


Falcon's Truth

by Unajet



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Hydra (Marvel), Love, Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Three Compliant, Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Two Compliant, Marvel Universe, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2019-07-25 20:27:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 39
Words: 200,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16205060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unajet/pseuds/Unajet
Summary: This story takes place during the two-year gap between CA:CW and A:IW.Escaping from the Raft, the group takes an additional prisoner with them. She's been tortured by Hydra and held illegally as a prisoner by Ross.  She's now slightly broken, but still a fighter. Sam sets about trying to help her adjust to having freedom after so long while on the run with Steve and Natasha. As time goes on, he finds his feeling moving from friendship to something more. But with Hydra's downfall, those left to rebuild want her back in their clutches, to use her special, unique powers to grow Hydra back strong.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Greetings: Hello to everyone out there. This is my first AO3 posting, having used FanFiction for the past few years. I am now at a point where I feel comfortable about releasing my Falcon/OC story that I mentioned I was writing. I don't see many of those so I thought about giving it a try. I estimate that this story will be close to 50 chapters long.
> 
> This will take place between CA:CW and A:IW, which according to the MCU is a span of approx. two years. Eventually there will be some time jumping since not every day is an adventure. So please take this into account as our two main characters' feelings start to develop. Hanging out every day together, 24/7 for a year and a half. It is not an overnight thing.
> 
> If you've read my other stories (on FF), then you are familiar with the slightly darker themes that I sometimes like to go with...and this story is definitely no exception. There will be retelling & mentioning of brutal acts but no firsthand account of them. I hope that this story's premise interest you enough so that you stay with me through the chapter postings to the shocking ending.
> 
> There is a reason this story has a MATURE rating!  
> TRIGGER WARNINGS OF POSSIBLE/DEFINITE: Cursing, Beatings, Anxiety, Depression, Nightmares, Forms of torture, Implied Medical Procedures, Temporary Insanity, Implied Rape, Deaths...(sarcasm ~~}you know, all the usual fun stuff)!

_**Just Outside of Washington, D.C.** _  
_**Unknown Hydra Base** _  
_**Late March - 2014** _

Stepping proudly into the open doorway of the office, Hydra Base Commander Jeff Wilkes was glad that the man sitting behind the desk was one step closer to finally getting off of his base. For the past few weeks, his irritation had steadily grown thanks to the arrogant project commander that had been sent here by Hydra Command.

"What is it?" Marcus Keeling asked him without even having the courtesy to look up from his paperwork to respectfully acknowledge him.

On the desk next to him was the computer monitor that was linked into the cameras in the interrogation room. Even if he was not physically present, Keeling always made sure to keep an eye on his project. He had stated that watching numerous agents being asked the same questions over and over became too monotonous for him.

"The last of the helicarriers' flight crews have just finished their interrogations," Jeff informed him holding back the full answer on purpose.

"And?"

"They _all_ _passed_ ," he answered putting just a bit of smugness in his voice.

He had told Keeling upon arrival that the crews were all loyal Hydra subjects, having worked with them for some time now. But they had still been ordered to undergo the questioning to insure it. Hydra Command was not about to take _any_ chances when it comes to the launch of Project Insight. So he had found himself playing host to Marcus Keeling, head of Project Cherry Tree, and the single female prisoner that was its sole purpose for existing.

Keeling looked over at where the countdown clock was located high on the wall, seeing that it was still blank. But now that the crews had been cleared, once the final go-ahead was given in only a matter of days, it would begin the countdown to launching. That would also give the signal for his base's final remaining personnel's evacuation to begin. All the other prisoners and unnecessary agents had already been moved to the secondary location as of this morning. This base was inside the range of some of the initial targets and everyone would return after Hydra had taken control of the government.

"I want my project to be the first one evacuated out of here after the countdown begins," he flatly stated while Jeff wished he was leaving much sooner. The countdown starting was Keeling's signal to leave, having been ordered to remain here in case any other last minute interrogations were necessary.

"I had already planned to," Jeff answered but he then hesitated to leave the office.

Asking the question about the prisoner was on the tip of his tongue, but now the he had the chance he was hesitant about doing so. He had witnessed for weeks the horrible treatments that Keeling heaped on her, far worse than anything he'd ever had to order for his own prisoners here. But he was not the one in charge of her. Keeling answered solely to Hydra Command.

Noticing his reluctance to leave, Keeling finally looked over at him, haughtily asking, "Is there something _else_ , Commander?"

Taking a steadying breath, "I was wondering if there was anything special to do with the prisoner?"

There was a noticeable change in Keeling's body language as he chucked his pen down, which quickly formed a nervous knot in his own stomach. Jeff knew he was _not_ being disloyal to Hydra, in fact that was just the opposite. He now knew how much Command relied on the project and he was only concerned for the prisoner's well-being. He'd seen the bruises, the black eyes...how damaged her hands were.

What could Keeling be doing to her that he hadn't seen?

If Keeling mistook his concern as doubt for their cause, he could request from Hydra Command that Jeff be questioned as to his own loyalty. If they felt his thoughts untrustworthy, he would be removed from his station.

Sitting back in his chair while crossing his fingers together, a twisted smile crossed Keeling's lips as his eyes narrowed at him.

Keeling's voice was dripping with condescension as he asked, "What? Do you want to take her for a _walk_ around the _garden_?"

Jeff's back straightened and his face dropped any hint of emotion at being so openly mocked. He had _never_ been spoken to so by anyone.

"No," his voice becoming hard now. "I only wondered if there was a procedure not in the file so that she knows her job has been satisfactorily completed."

Keeling heavily sighed, as if hearing something for one too many times. Was he not the first to notice and say something?

Standing his brawny form up, he strode across the room for the door, forcing Wilkes to back into the hallway as he did not stop. The slight limp that Keeling walked with came from an injury he sustained years ago when he led a Hydra Strike Team. He had inquired into a brief history of the man that Hydra Command had granted full access of his base to, but the file was restricted as to the actual mission incident.

With a single wiggle of his finger to indicate for Jeff to follow, they silently made their way through the halls towards the prisoner's cell. Wilkes had already started to dread where this might be going. He had found out quickly that Keeling had a temper on him, which was why he had tried to avoid him as much as possible during his stay.

The file he had received before their arrival concerning Project Cherry Tree had explained the prisoner's powers, as well as the steps necessary to prevent her from using them on anyone surrounding her. That was why he had considered Keeling's requests a bit extreme since it would only take one of the three senses her powers relied on being restricted to render her helpless.

Or had she tried to free herself so often that the extra precautions were necessary?

Wilkes had been ordered by Command to basically bow and jump at any requests when it came to anything that Keeling wanted or needed upon his arrival. Mostly they were for more demands of stricter restraints for the prisoner or less interaction with Hydra agents or guards. It seemed that even with the little contact that she already had with anyone that Keeling was determined to overshadow even that.

He recalled their initial meeting, moments after arrival. The cell's open metal bars had been Keeling's first irritation but that could not be helped. This base handled low-level white collar prisoners or Hydra members who usually only needed a slight nudge to get back on track. They did not need the type of solid door, solitary confinement cell that Keeling had expected to hold her in.

The only concession Keeling had made was allowing the prisoner plates of normal food instead of the liquid ones. She was in great demand while here so inserting and removing a nose feeding tube was too much of a hassle twice a day just to keep the gag in when she was not questioning agents. Therefore, he'd allowed the plates delivered with the stipulation of making sure the locking blindfold was in place.

That had been how Jeff had learned of her damaged hands. One of the guards had come to him after delivering her a meal early on. Keeling had refused to allow any silverware, metal, plastic, or rubber. The guard had watched for a few moments and noticed that she was barely able to pick up the food with her fingers, then he informed him of what he had seen. Pulling her file back out, he found the answer inside of it under her medical information, and it had churned his stomach. Her bones had been mutilated to the point where her hands would never work properly again.

Turning into the security hallway, the guards which had escorted the prisoner from the interrogation room were just now locking the cell's door after putting her inside. Stopping just a few feet out of reach from the bars, their arrival caught her attention with the guards stepping off to the side just a few feet away in case they were needed. She wore the standard orange prisoner suit, making sure to cover her arms and legs.

On the back wall, the chain and collar which had been install at Keeling's request hung loose, not having been secured by the guards moments ago. They had been advised as to her powers and how to protect themselves from her, and it seemed that they agreed with him. Therefore they had only used one type of restraint which was necessary to protect themselves, hence the locked panel gag that surrounded her mouth and chin. Without being able to speak, she was as helpless as any other prisoner.

Keeling's deep voice suddenly boomed, "Is _everyone_ in this base _weak_!?"

Jeff visibly shook at the startling outburst and the two Hydra guards backed up a few more steps, as if sensing they were about to see Keeling's darker side.

"I don't understand…" was as far as Jeff got before being interrupted.

"Obviously, you _don't_ understand," he said turning on him. Pointing a finger at the lone, red headed figure in the cell now moving backwards to cower in a corner, " _That_ is nothing more than a _tool_ for Hydra to use. She does not get _special treatment_ , she does not get told ' _good job'_ , and she does _not_ go for fucking _walks_ in a _park_!"

"I _never_ …"

"And you never _will_!" Keeling bellowed. "Everything that you were given in that file upon arrival is _all_ that you need to worry about…and you _still_ didn't even manage to get that right! As of right now without being secured to the back wall, if she wanted, she could make skin to skin contact with _anyone_ walking by this cell. Especially with the fact that her hands are _not_ cuffed _behind_ her back. Which leads to the fact that there is the possibility of _removing_ the gag if she's given enough time. Your security here is _laughable_! _This_ is the type of _feeble_ _handling_ that will _allow_ this prisoner to _escape_! Now, since you were so _eager_ for her to be given _special treatment_ , inform medical that they are to start the transportation procedures on her in one hour."

Wilkes looked at him stunned for a moment recalling the overly harsh and painful restraints she had arrived here in before turning his eyes to the cell, saying, "But you may not get your evacuation approval for a few days, maybe even up to a week."

Being slightly taller than Jeff, Keeling used it to his advantage as he then leaned over so that he purposely loomed a bit menacingly at him.

With as much disdain in his voice as Jeff had ever heard, "Then you better make sure that you have plenty of liquid meals necessary to keep her alive until we leave here. Maybe if she _looks_ more like a _prisoner_ then _everyone_ at this base will _stop_ looking at her like a _person_!"

Wilkes finally managed to break eye contact with him, dropping them to the ground and not even bothering to look at the female anymore. This was the first time he had ever felt sorry for someone. It was not a good feeling.

Keeling was now looking at the stunned guards, his voice been booming, "Do I need to repeat myself? Because there are repercussions if I have to..."

"Of course not," he simply stated before turning to one of the guards. "You heard him. Go and inform medical. Now!"

With that yelled command, the guard turned and began to scurry down the hallway away from him. At least they both had been smart enough to hold their tongues. Hopefully Keeling had finished his tirade as his attention was now focused on the prisoner.

"Where is her arms' restraint?" he then demanded of the remaining guard.

"At the security desk," he told him before hesitantly continuing, "we couldn't figure out how to apply it."

Keeling narrowed an eye at him. Jeff had previously looked at the strange thick canvas device that would pin her lower arms behind her back. It did seem to take a bit of know-how to get it on and secured correctly with the numerous straps and ties. He understood why these new guards might find it difficult.

"Why not? She was wearing it yesterday," he heatedly commented.

Jeff knew that he was going to have to take responsibility for this mess up.

"These two guards are not normally from this floor. They were brought in specifically for her this morning. The ones who were assigned to her shipped out with the remaining prisoners," he informed Keeling. "They were instructed on her ability but must not have received the _full_ instruction on all of your requirements."

Keeling did not look happy with that admission, which he probably _should have_ made sure had been done properly by his head of security, who had already left with the prisoners. He had just been swamped with preparations getting ready to leave the base.

"Do you have zip ties?" Keeling asked the remaining guard, who quickly reached into a side pocket on his pants and removed a handful of them.

Keeling reached out and angrily took hold of them.

Reaching over, he punched in the code to allow the cell's door to be unlocked and opened.

Stepping inside, the prisoner backed herself further against the wall, as if trying to melt into it for protection. Jeff couldn't think of another time in his life when he had seen pure fear coming from someone. Keeling reached out and grabbed her wrist, roughly twisting it around and upwards, forcing her to turn and face the wall or have the wrist broken.

He watched as both her wrists were crossed to form an X behind her back while being zip tied from two directions, in a bisecting pattern to keep them that way. Next the metal collar was locked around her neck, the chain giving only a few feet of movement, enough to reach the bed but not the front bars.

What Wilkes did _not_ expect was how Keeling then used _another_ zip-tie linked between her wrists and the collar. Slowly he began to ratchet it smaller and smaller until her arms were forced painfully up her back, not stopping until her hands met the back of her neck. Her screams told him that the reverse prayer position of her arms had to be as painful as they looked.

The few mumbled words of sickened awe from the guard next to him matched his own thoughts.

" _That_ is how you secure a prisoner!" Keeling manically stated as he pushed her away from him so that she was slammed into the concrete wall face first. There was no doubt that she would have a bruise on her temple later on from it. "Lesson over."

He then turned his attention back to him and the guard, both of them struck dumbfounded at the harsh display.

"Don't you have anything else to do right now?" they were frigidly asked.

Jeff Wilkes felt his body chill at the shrouded command to leave from Keeling. He may not have said anything malicious, but there was an undeniable evil tone to the words.

This man was pure Hydra.

Turning around to head back the way they came, his ears picked up on a protesting sound from the prisoner at their leaving, pleas of ' _help_ ' barely being able to be understood through her gag. She was actually _begging_ to _him_ , having seen some ounce of concern from him.

But Jeff didn't bother looking at her again as he left. He just wanted both of them gone so he could concentrate on keeping his base running.

When he reached the nearby corner, he disappeared out of sight from the hallway. But then stopped with the guard giving him an inquiring look before he continued on, looking glad to be away from the scene.

But his own curiosity was taking over again, and Wilkes knew if he wasn't careful it might get him in trouble one day.

What was Keeling going to do in there to her?

He had to know for sure.

For the next minute from where he stood, he listened as Keeling's deep voice reaching him through the echoing hallway. He was actually berating the prisoner for making the two Hydra guards feel sorry for her, asking if she remembered the punishment for ' _trying to find a friend_ '.

But Wilkes knew that was not the case here. Their usual prisoners were politicians or scientists. Hydra Command wanted them turned, not tortured. The guards here were used to a certain type of treatment to insure that Hydra got their allies. They were only doing what was normally expected of them.

Hearing his own name drew him back to Keeling before he then stated, "It's been a while since you've misbehaved like that. Looks like you need a reminder that _nobody_ will _ever_ take you away from me."

Echoing from down the hall, there was then the unmistakable sound of a strong strike before something hit the ground.

Jeff's hands fisted as he remembered being told that Keeling had ' _full control'_ over Project Cherry Tree, and due to the ' _positive results_ ' that his ' _heavy-handed overseeing_ ' had produced that meant ' _anything he did was allowed_ ', and to ' _not interfere'_ with his treatment of the prisoner.

But how far did he take his _handling_ of her…

"You want someone to give you attention, then _I'll_ give it to you."

Then Wilkes heard it.

The muffled screams…over and over in the rhythmic pattern…followed by more wailing cries for help.

Jeff was sure his face blanched.

Keeling's angry grunts as he began to pant heavily made Wilkes sick to his stomach. Never had any prisoner housed on his base ever been sexually assaulted, but it seemed that record was now shattered with each weakening feminine scream and groan that reached his ears.

Hearing movement from the other direction, he turned to see the guard returning from medical but he quickly raised his hand and gestured for him to go back from where he came. He must have been able to hear the echoes of what was going on since he only allowed a moment to pass before doing so. There was no way he or any of his men would interrupt the spectacle that Keeling was making. Anyone passing the cell only had to glance to see everything. Luckily there were no other prisoners still located here, already having been evacuated, giving him just enough privacy for his debauchery.

Forcing his feet forward to move him away from the haunting sounds, he wished that damn countdown clock would activate so that he could get Keeling the hell out of here.

Hopefully Project Cherry Tree was gone before Keeling requested _him_ be interrogated for his curiosity. Because right now, there was no way to hide his disgust at how Keeling was… _handling_ …his project.

And he didn't know if Hydra Command would be angry or proud of his thoughts on the subject but he was _not_ about to put his own career, _or life,_ on the line for the female prisoner.

* * *

**_The Raft  
June 2016 - Just Over Two Year Later_ **

"It's about time you showed up," Sam told Cap who stood on the opposite site of the glass partition that formed one wall of his cell on the Raft.

"Couldn't find any parking," Steve joked as the walls suddenly started to lift on all three cells, freeing him, Clint, and Tic-tac.

They had not had any word of what had happened after Tony had left here just over a week ago. He had begun to think that it had been a bad idea to trust Tony, but he guessed that if Steve was here then everything had turned out alright.

"Wanda's being held in a different area," Clint pointed out as they started to quickly move out of their cell area.

"I already know where to go," Steve told them as they came to a T-intersection in the hallway. "You three head on up to the flight deck while I get Wanda."

"I'm coming with you," Clint pointed out as he followed Steve without looking back, knowing that the others might be joining them as well.

He knew how upset Clint had been when Wanda had been separated from their group upon arrival. Since he had been the one to bring her into the fight, he felt partially responsible for getting her into this mess. Even though he had told Clint numerous times that it was her own choice to be there, Sam knew that the gnawing guilt was not going to leave him until they were out of here.

"Figured that at least one of you would say that," Steve threw over his shoulder as the entire group hurriedly went down a flight of metal stairs.

In no time, they were at the higher-level security door that lead to the enhanced lock-up area. Normal humans, such as himself and the others who required equipment, had more basic cells. Steve stood outside of the door for only a few moments before it clicked, and the heavy bars retracted, allowing him to pull it open.

If he had thought their cells were bad, then these could only be described as miserable. All of the doors were solid metal with only a small hole for guards to be able to peek through which even had a metal door to close it off. There was no way for one prisoner to communicate with another. At least the three of them had been able to chat. A green light on the outside would indicate the cell was locked but there was only one with the interior lights shining through the small window so it drew his attention.

"Wanda!" Clint called out, rushing past Steve while focusing on the light. "Wanda!"

Seconds later, they all heard the sound of a faint banging coming from the lit room. Reaching it, Clint peeked through and Sam watched as his shoulders dropped, knowing he was relieved to see her inside.

"Give it a moment," Steve told him as Clint examined the locking system.

And sure enough after a few more seconds, the door slid upwards to reveal Wanda. She was wearing some kind of extremely heavy duty straitjacket with a collar around her neck. He could only guess that it was used to control her or her powers in some way. Steve reached out with his bare hands and grabbed it on the side, using his sheer strength to break it off.

"Are you alright?" Steve asked, tossing the device back into the cell as Wanda turned so Clint could work on the restraints of her straitjacket.

"Yes, but I would not mind being anywhere else really soon," Wanda gave a weary grin at being free, stretching her arms.

"I think that can be arranged," Steve smiled back at her as they began exiting out of the cell.

"So what did one of you do to annoy Ross so much that he put you in here with me?" Wanda asked with a bit of humor, but her question stopped all of them in their tracks. They began to look around at each other for an answer none of them had.

"Nothing. None of us were in here," Scott asked her, looking at their group. "Aren't we all here? Is somebody missing?"

Wanda turned to look at the cell near the end of the hall.

Only then did Sam see that the door was also locked and occupied thanks to the green light, but the small door was closed over the window. It also seemed to be the only other used cell in this area. Propped up next to it was a long metal pole with an open ring at one end next to the door. He had seen similar items used on aggressive dogs and Sam hoped that his guess that it was some kind of lead for a human's neck was wrong.

"I could hear someone fighting with the guards on a daily basis," Wanda admitted stepping only a few feet towards the cell. She was curious as to who was there just as he was. "I thought that one of you were down there and that was why they never let us see each other. I heard the guards going around mealtimes down there. The collar prevented me from talking, shocking me if I did, so we never communicated."

Sam looked over at Steve's hearing that. He could see the anger building in him at hearing that Secretary Thaddeus Ross had used some form of shock control over Wanda, and _possibly_ another prisoner if they had not tried to communicate with Wanda either.

Steve headed decisively for the cell, pulling out a small radio device from his pocket.

"Nat, what do you have on who's down the hall in a cell?" he asked into it, surprising Sam a bit that _she_ was the one protectively watching over all of them during the escape.

It seemed that Nat had changed sides at some point.

" _There seems to be only one other prisoner on the entire Raft_ ," Sam heard Natasha's voice say. " _The camera is on night-vision so the picture's not very clear. They are laying on the bed facing the wall so I cannot tell who it is."_

Steve released the small viewing door but they found that there was no light on inside for them to be able to see the prisoner.

"Nat, could it be Bruce?" Steve asked catching all of their attentions.

Ever since Sokovia, Bruce had been missing in action with no sign of him anywhere. Had Ross, who _hated_ Bruce with a passion, somehow managed to capture him and lock him down here?

" _From this angle,_ _I don't think so_ ," they heard. " _Even wearing a bulky prison jumpsuit, there's something about their body's frame that just doesn't fit_."

They could see the disappointment from Steve.

"Either way, go ahead and open the door," Steve instructed her. "Then find their file so we know who we're dealing with."

"Hold up there, Cap," Clint quickly said, placing his hand on Steve's shoulder. "Our group is all accounted for. If they are in _this_ area, they are enhanced in some way, like Wanda. We don't know _who_ this person is or what they might _do_ to us."

"No matter _who_ it is, they are Ross' prisoner. You _saw_ how he had Wanda restrained. There's no telling what he's done to this person. So I'm not going to leave here without at least knowing _who_ is inside of this cell," Steve firmly stated even while looking at the bar lead. "Nat, open the door."

Seconds later they all stood looking into the room, but finding the totally dark cell a bit disconcerting. From inside, they could hear the sound of the prisoner starting to move.

"Can you give us some lights?" Steve requested into the radio.

After a few moments they harshly blinked on, giving all of them a shocking first look at the person.

Hearing the door opening, the lone figure inside had started sliding towards the furthest wall as they lay on the bed, probably having been asleep. They stopped only once their back was to the wall for support with a lifted bent leg ready to strike out, as if being defensive were their natural response.

What had they been put through to just automatically start fighting guards?

The prisoner's head showed a mess of poorly chopped, natural red hair. It looked matted and greasy, as if it hadn't been washed in days. Sam carefully examined the person, still trying to figure out if they were male or female. The smaller petite body frame was a more feminine size. The hardest part to deciphering their sex were the strange restraining devices covering sections of their face and part of the head.

Over the eyes was some kind of metal blindfold that seemed to have leather around the edges, probably to soften where it touched the skin. And over the mouth and jaw was some strange form of solid metal gag, preventing the person from speaking. They were linked by strips of metal that ran past both sides of the nose so it became one piece. Covering both hands were small, round metal balls with a single loop at the tips and which seemed to lock at the wrists, preventing any use of their hands. The person was crossing their arms in front of their neck area as if trying to keep guards from getting to it with the pole just outside the door. They also wore a shock collar just like Wanda's.

The most disturbing item was the feeding tube that was sticking out from the nose, telling Sam that the devices stayed on for longer periods of time if they guards had to use it for mealtimes.

"Cap," Clint quietly got everyone's attention. "If they've gone through _those_ types of measures, there's a _damn good_ reason."

"I have to agree with him," Sam said as Steve stepped into the room to get a better look at the other prisoner. "We may want to cut out from here before it gets us in trouble."

Quietly walking to stand at the side of the prisoner, Steve was now able to see the back of the strange headgear and his eyes grew wide.

"The blindfold and gag are secured by a padlock so they can't be removed," he told them as the prisoner suddenly swung their right hand outward, trying to strike at Steve, but instead the metal fist struck the back wall, producing a ringing sound in the small room.

" _Steve, the file says the prisoner's name is Polly_ ," Nat's voice stated. " _She was a prisoner of Hydra's and was confiscated by authorities during some traffic accident_."

"Hydra's prisoner?" Steve asked as she swung her metal fist again in the direction of his voice. "Confiscated? That doesn't make any sense. Why would a prisoner of Hydra's continue to be Ross' prisoner?"

" _We are running out of time to discuss this, Steve_ ," Nat informed him. " _Our escape window is closing. Make up your mind and do it_."

Steve brought his hand up to his chin as he stared down at the figure they now knew was indeed female. He could see that Cap didn't like having to do this so rushed but they needed a decision now, before _none of them_ left the Raft.

Sam also saw something a bit different in the prisoner posture now that she understood they were not guards. She had quit actively trying to swing her arms at Steve, but she was still huddled on the corner of the bed.

"We are taking her with us," Steve informed them looking over and waiting for an argument.

Sam glanced at the others and saw that they were not going to, so he decided to state the obvious.

"Cap, if that's what you want, we'll go along with it, but at least consider this. She's here for a reason, and we need to be safe."

"We will be," Steve told him as he went to crouch down closer to her. "Polly? That is your name?"

The female, who had been listening to them, gave one nod, her head turning towards Steve's voice.

"We are escaping here and I want to take you with us. I do not know why you are here, or what Ross wants with you, but I _am_ going to find out once we have escaped. So, do you want out of here?" Steve asked to which she began to nod a bit more eagerly.

"Are you going to give us any trouble?" Steve asked.

Polly slowly shook her head, indicating she would behave. Sam guessed that was the best they were going to get. Steve passed the radio over to him.

"Then let's get that collar off," Steve told her before reaching over and ripping it apart just as he had done with Wanda's.

Sam instantly noticed something different with the skin underneath.

Looking over at Wanda he saw that her neck looked unblemished. But Polly's neck was marred with different levels of red welts all the way around. It seemed that she had been shocked a lot more than Wanda to the point where they had not even had a chance to heal since the last time it was used on her. The murmur from the others told him that they noticed the same thing he had.

"Since we are running out of time, and I can't remove those objects on you until I know my team is safe, I'm going to have to carry you. Can you stand up for me?" Steve explained to her.

Without hesitating she slowly tried to stand, but not being able to see or use her hands, Steve moved to help her. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he helped to guide her up from the bed. Sam saw her visibly flinch at the contact, telling him that it may have been some time since she'd been touched at all, or more than likely beaten a lot by the guards recalling what Wanda had mentioned about her fighting with them.

Once she was standing, Steve swept Polly up into his arms and they all now began to run up through the Raft towards their freedom.

"Nat, we are on the way. I hope you have our ride ready to go," Sam called over the radio as they headed up the flights of stairs.

" _I'm just sitting here doing my nails while waiting on all of you_ ," Nat quipped.

Sam glanced at Polly as Steve rounded the stairs. He could see that she had drawn up her body into a small ball in his arms and was resting her head on his shoulder. Not knowing who had her, along with her ability to not be able to see or speak, he knew it had to be extremely frightening. Once they were out of this place, he decided to see what he could do to help alleviate some of the numerous fears she probably had.

But she had easily agreed to come with them instead of staying here, telling him that her dislike of this place overrode her any immediate fear of the unknown group she was taking up with.

Arriving at the landing platform, he could see a tuff of familiar red hair from the pilot's seat. Sam had at least expected Bucky to be here guarding the jet. He hoped that it was not for the worst possible reason he could imagine, such as Bucky having been killed.

"Took you long enough," Nat called over her shoulder while closing the ramp door as soon as the last person was inside. "Getting slow in your old age there, Clint. Maybe you _should_ retire."

"And here I was actually starting to _miss_ you. What was I _thinking_?" Clint joked with her, but resting his hand on her shoulder in a silent greeting as they began to gain altitude. Seconds later, Nat leveled out the jet and took off in a very big hurry.

"Hey, my suit!" he heard Scott exclaim so he turned to see that all of their confiscated equipment had been pilfered by Nat and put into one of the open cargo bins. "At least Hank's not going to sic his paraponera clavata on me anymore."

"His _what_?" Sam asked not understanding the comment, but Scott only scrunched up his face and dismissively waved his hand for him to ignore him.

While they had been on the Raft, Scott had told everyone the story of how the two of them had met and it sounded like Hank Pym was force to be reckoned with if irritated. Sam was glad that he never had a 'trial-by-water' scenario from Cap.

Steve sat Polly down on one of the jump-seats, reaching over and pulling the safety strap around her body to secure her. He then headed forward to speak with Nat. Knowing that she needed to understand what was happening, Sam took the space next to her so they…or at least he…could talk.

"Polly," he softly said, letting her know that he was next to her, "My name is Sam Wilson. The man who was carrying you is Steve. The others are Nat, Wanda, Clint, and Scott. Once we get somewhere safe, we'll go through proper introductions. But our group needs to know more about you, and why you were on the Raft to begin with before we can free you. Do you understand?"

Polly turned her head towards the sound of his voice and gave a simple nod.

"I'm going to go read your file and let the others know what I find."

If she cared about what he said, she gave no indication. Polly just continued to sit in the seat, her head drooped a bit forward and not moving at all. He then realized that the device on her head was probably heavy and hard to hold up with her neck for too long. Maybe she had not actually been asleep but lying down to ease the pain. Hopefully with what he finds in her file will allow them to be removed.

Getting up, he made his way over to Nat in the pilot's chair.

"Do you have Polly's file handy? I want to find out what's going on with her as soon as possible. I'm pretty sure those things on her are not comfortable," he explained.

Nat reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a small thumb drive, handing it over her shoulder to him.

"The personal file is not very big and with the quick glance I took at it, it didn't seem to make a lot of sense," she told him. "But I saw listing for numerous interrogation videos associated with her. I'm not sure what's on them though."

"Hopefully I'll find out about her now that we have some time," he told her taking the device along with a tablet from a side console. Inserting it, he walked back to the opposite side of the jet from Polly, not wanting to risk sitting next to her for too long without knowing what she was truly capable of. Since everyone else was right next to him, it seemed that they were all of one mind.

Opening her file, Sam began to read.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm using a similar plot device I previously used in another story where the character does not use their own name. It will be revealed at a later time inside of the story so you'll learn it along with the characters.
> 
> This chapter will be giving a lot of her history. If as you read this you think Polly has a strange idea about the Raft and how it's set up, you're right. It will be explained a couple of more chapters into the story.
> 
> I'll be posting updates weekly, maybe bi-weekly if I can get the editing done fast enough.

_**On The Plane** _  
_**Just After Escaping** _

Sitting in the strange seat, she listened to the new sounds around her as they left the base that had been her home for the past few years. Since it seemed they were escaping in a jet, and not a car or truck, they might have a chance to get away. Hopefully the base nicknamed the Raft didn't have planes or helicopters that could track them. Then again, she didn't know how determined Ross would be to recapture this other group instead of just killing them.

Still wanting her to work for him, even considering how much Ross hated her, she doubted that her being with them would stop him if he really wanted to blow them out the air.

Across the way, she could hear the males and female talking about what they had gone through with the authoritative voice known as Steve. It seemed that he was the one in charge. He would be the one to obey, to not anger. Did he like to punish the others himself like Keeling, or did he have one of his underlings do it for him like Ross? She would have to take her cues from how they acted towards him during the flight to find out. Once he reprimanded someone she might be able to figure out how cruel he could be towards her if she failed to escape from them.

As they talked, a few of them questioned what to make of her. Unfortunately, she didn't have an answer that she would give them anyways. After saying too much to Ross, she knew to keep quiet.

But the smooth, rich voice of Sam had mentioned that they had _her file_. Even if she didn't cooperate, they were going to know _everything_ that _Ross_ knew. At least Ross had never found her Hydra file. She didn't doubt the scum bastard would have used it to figure out how to make her work for him.

She could only hope that she hadn't made a bigger mistake of going with this new group, but they were her first real chance of escaping that base. At least she knew what to expect from Ross and the guards. Even with hating the dark, she had learned to handle being in it for the short periods of time that Ross demanded as punishment. At least after so long she no longer had the panic attacks when the device was first put on her head. Ross wanted to use her, and that was the one thought that helped to keep her sane…that he would not _permanently_ leave her in the dark.

But this new group _could_ be just as bad as Hydra…as Keeling. She had just wanted off the base, not considering that she was leaving with other prisoners, meaning bad guys who needed to be locked up. Why had she not considered that before? If she refused to cooperate, they could easily lock her away in the dark and never give her another thought.

What about if _they_ were Hydra? Was that why they were locked up? She shook her head at the notion. They had talked of Hydra as another group, not their own. She had to believe that they were not. The consequences of them being Hydra were too frightening and would make her panic. Instead, she had to remember that they _had_ seemed upset that Ross had not freed her after finding her as Hydra's prisoner...so _maybe_ they were _at least_ a step up.

Even Ross had been a step up from Keeling. Hell… _The Devil_ would be a step up from Keeling. Even two years later, just picturing Keeling tortured, dying, or dead gave her a great satisfaction. Maybe one day her dream would come true and she would find out that manky wanker had died around the time Hydra fell.

Listening again to the group, she learned they had only been there for just over a week. So, very close to when the restraints had gone on again. But she had not heard any of them fighting with the guards. Why not? Compared to Hydra ones, they were weak, giving only pitiful beatings when she fought them, or lazily using the collar to knock her out.

Why had they seemed to have waited for a rescue and not tried to escape the base? Were _they_ weak?

To her, just being able to get outside and feel the warm sun on her face for a few minutes would be worth any punishment for doing so. But for them, it had only been days since they had probably seen the sky. Unlike her cell, maybe theirs had windows.

She did know that she had not been at the Raft for very long, just over two years from what she had overheard a guard mentioning to a new trainee not too long ago. That length of time was nothing compared to the numerous years she'd spent locked inside of the many different Hydra compounds. Even now, thanks to the rules Keeling had, she didn't know exactly how long it had been.

And if this group were like Hydra, she'd never really know.

Would they start just as Hydra had? At first, they had constantly tested her abilities, to see if what they had been told about her was correct. And once they had been satisfied that it was, the free life she had known for the first eighteen years of her life disappeared. Once the threat to her family had begun to wear thin, it was one of the agents which had pointed out that if she didn't comply with testing, that they may as well put a bullet into her head and dump her into the bog.

If she'd known then what would happen to her, maybe she would have let him done so.

Hydra Command found her unique naturally enhanced ability of being able to force people to tell the truth to be a great benefit to their twisted organization. It also caught the eye of one particularly ambitious agent, Marcus Keeling. It had not taken long for him to assert himself as her personal overseer and head of Project Cherry Tree. Keeling had used _her_ skills to gain _himself_ a notoriety that made her, and by association him, indispensable when it came to stopping backstabbing inside of the organization. And he had made sure that everyone knew who was the one responsible for keeping her in line.

Rubbing her constant, painfully sore fingers together in the cuffs, she recalled how Keeling had her cruelly tested to try and expand that ability towards Hydra's desires until she had finally reached the breaking point where it had worked.

When she finally started to learn how to focus her ability, instead of just commanding a person to tell the truth, she was able to command them to obey her. That had pleased Keeling to no end. For him, it proved that his techniques for ' _training'_ her worked.

Which had only made her life worse.

But that was also when Keeling had realized that he needed to take extra precautions so that she couldn't escape by using her new talent. He'd had the cuffs and blindfold / gag created to use when transporting her so that she could not demand her own freedom. Even though only one of the three would be necessary, he was not taking any chances with such a useful ' _tool'_ , his favorite term to remind her of her place.

For so long, they traveled from base to base around the globe to have her make others give Hydra sensitive information, and question possible recruits, as well as suspected betrayers to learn the truth of their resolve. Hydra might hide inside of the organizations they intended to betray, but they sure hated it inside of their own. Those that failed their test and deemed not useful enough were instantly put to death, some by their own hand.

She had tried to fight Hydra at first, refusing to touch and capture their stare with her own as she asked them questions. Keeling had not been one to take no for an answer.

And so with much experimenting…he'd eventually found his favorite type of torture that had broken her to the point where her own self-preservation was more important than some evil organization's henchman. It had taken a few years, but she learned to comply so that the pain would stop…at least for a short time.

After being discovered by that sleeveen Thadeous Frecking Ross thanks to a dumb car accident, she had been moved to the Raft base where a new round of testing had _almost_ started. Luckily they didn't employ the same painful compliance techniques that Hydra had. Not realizing this at first, she had unfortunately given them just enough information about her and the abilities she possessed.

But after so many years of living to serve others, she was tired of being used and just wanted all of it to stop. It didn't take her long after arriving for her to decide to start testing the resolve of her new captors.

So, after figuring out that Ross would not hurt her on the same level as Keeling…she had just shut herself down. It wasn't that hard to accomplish. Due to his fear of her escaping, Keeling had 'stored' her in the isolation cell for weeks on end when she wasn't needed. He liked to tell others it was like putting his tool on a shelf. And during those quiet times, at least there was no new pain. Her mind was free to once again conjure the dreams where she was back with her family, walking in the sunlight, getting in trouble with her cousin and friends. She would spend days in that peaceful place before Keeling would rip her from it.

But right after getting to this new base, she had _physical_ entertainment too. When the Raft guards had come to her cell, she would fight them to see how determined they were that day. It didn't even matter that doing so caused the pain in her shoulders to burn. Sometimes they would leave her alone if they didn't feel like putting up with her. But that would only work for a few days before Ross sent orders for her to be dragged out for more testing.

That was when she would just shut down again and dream. They would drag her out of the cell with not a bit of fight, but she would just sit there and do nothing. No speaking, no movements.

Even when they did punish her for not obeying by using the shock collar on her, the pain would ultimately make her pass out. When she would wake up, she'd be back in her cell, right where she wanted to be.

Eventually she had become so irritating that Ross himself had shown up to personally deal with her.

That day, she'd found herself chained to a table in an interrogation room when he entered. At first he began showering her with all sorts of pathetic promises…real clothes, better food, less medical procedures. All except for the one thing she truly wanted…her freedom. Not settling for anything less, his temper had instantly changed. Ross then began with the threats of repercussions for refusing to work for him. None of them were even in the category of what she'd already been through with Keeling.

Slamming his fist on the metal table into emphasize his point before sticking his finger in her face, Ross made the mistake of getting too close.

Sick of his attitude towards her, she'd decided to have some fun at his expense, damn the repercussions she'd face.

If he wanted proof of her abilities, then _he_ was getting it.

Grabbing his exposed hand, she had locked his gaze to hers and commanded that he _continually_ punch himself in his groin…hard.

By the time the guards entered the room and tackled him to the ground trying to restrain him, Ross was cursing at her between his screams of pain. During her laughing taunts of never being able to get it up again without Viagra was when the shock collar had finally been activated to knock her out.

When she regained consciousness, she was alone in the interrogation room still secured to the table. Only minutes later, Colonel Ryker, head of the Raft's day-to-day activities, had arrived with a guard armored so no bare skin was visible and his face mask was heavily tinted to prevent eye contact. And in his gloved hand was a wooden night-stick that he was anxiously toying with.

Ryker only had to order her one time to remove the command before she decided Ross wasn't worth the beating she'd take. There had already been enough of those from Keeling. So she allowed them to take her down to medical where they had put Ross onto a bed and used medical restraints on him to stop his actions. He never said a word to her but she knew that a punishment was coming.

Probably an hour after being put back into her cell, the fully covered guards had shown up and told her that medical was ready to receive her. Arriving, she had seen the Hydra blindfold and gag headgear along with the metal cuffs. Hydra only used them when moving her between facilities so she had thought that maybe she was being moved to a new base. But she'd made Ross more than just a bit angry and they would be his payback. The guard smiled as he used the collar to knock her unconscious.

That time when she woke up back in her cell, she almost regretted her actions towards Ross…almost.

They had put her back into the dark.

But it seemed that either Ross or the guards didn't understand how Keeling actually used to have the cuffs secured to her during transport. To free her from inside of the Hydra truck, bolt cutters had removed the chain which held her cuffed hands up behind her back to the collar which then secured to the floor by another chain. This time the guards allowed her arms to be free in front of her, only her hands being rendered useless.

She actually considered their blunder a major improvement to Keeling's way.

With the items having been secured onto her so that she helpless, a new feeding tube had once again been run through her nose to her stomach. The guard inform her that Ross had ordered them to stay on her for the next two weeks as punishment for what she had done to him. The most she had ever been forced to wear them were a handful of days as she was transported to somewhere new. Knowing they would eventually come off helped to handle the darkness she found herself trapped in. She couldn't let Ross know how terrified she would sometimes get in it.

At that point she had only been at the Raft base a few weeks and found herself actually shut down…but by Ross' command this time. He had the guards pass the message that any time she was ready to cooperate and work for him, the devices would be removed. So the new daily routine began with her morning 'meal' being forced into her before they would ask if she had decided to obey Ross' commands. And every single day they had received a shake of her head in response.

Not being able to talk, or see, or touch anything, all she _could_ to do then was close herself down. Locked in the darkness, she had to find ways to stay sane. It had taken a long time to realize that when she saw or heard Keeling in her cell, that it was not real, that he had not found her. The only real entertainment she had came from fighting with the guards when they brought in the liquid meals. Two weeks trapped that way seemed like an eternity to her…at least it had the first time.

But a one-time punishment was not enough to satisfy Ross' broken manly pride. Ryker was ordered to continue with the new routine instructions given to him. Every two weeks, she would be forcibly escorted to the medical area with that damn pole lead, checked over to make sure she was healthy, and then questioned as to if she would work for Ross. With every answer of 'no' they received, the devices would be put back on for another two weeks before being dragged back to her cell.

So this had been her life for the past two years and it had become old very quickly.

But it seemed that her life was once again changing.

Now, with the prospect of just getting away from Ross, she had agreed to allow herself to be part of this group's escape from the base. She figured that once they knew about her, they would probably just as eager as Hydra or Ross to use her abilities for themselves. The voice Sam was reading through her file now and once he understood what she was truly capable of, she would find herself locked away again in a new cell. Maybe they would at lease leave the damn devices off or they would give her a light. A window would be a dream...

But maybe they weren't prepared to house her as a prisoner. They were just escaping themselves. This might be her chance to finally escape and go home. Could she get away from them before they locked her down?

If not, she could just shut herself down from them also, until a good escape opportunity presented itself.

She had grown use to the isolation.

If they decided they didn't have a use for her, instead of locking her back into the dark again, maybe she would get lucky and they would just kill her.

* * *

Sam leaned back on the seat and let his head fall against the hull. He couldn't believe that he'd initially considered leaving Polly behind on the Raft. Luckily Steve had some kind of foresight, or maybe just his annoyance for Ross, and had taken the initiative to bring her along with them. It had been the right call to make.

He'd read through the initial reports created when Polly had first been brought to the Raft before glancing at a couple in the long list, mostly labeled as 'Incident Reports', and he had never been so disturbed.

For just over the past two years, Polly had not only been going through her own type of PTSD after being Hydra's prisoner for however long, but thanks to Ross's treatment of her, she had possibly formed a psychosis from sensory deprivation...and Ross had just ignored the signs.

The most obvious were the nightmares that she had a couple of times a week. There were pieces of security footage saved by the guards that showed her waking up screaming and fighting off an invisible attacker in her cell. But even worse were the times that she woke while wearing the restraints. Not being able to see that she was alone, she would become violent, lashing out into the open area of the cell. She would toss her body against the walls screaming through the gag while crying, pounding her fists, sometimes with the cuffs and other times without. A couple of times he watched as the guards had shown up and dragged Polly back to the bed before chaining her down to it for a couple of hours, stating in the incident report that she was ' _causing a ruckus_ '.

Other times that were just as disturbing were during her 'punishment weeks' when Polly would just be sitting on the cot or floor and then suddenly become violent. She would suddenly lash out, as if she believed someone was in the cell with her. Sam had read that long-term sensory deprivation could cause hallucinations, and he guessed that was what she was experiencing. The guards who restrained her down during these times either didn't understand that she was frightened by figments of her own imagination or, more than likely, didn't care.

Any decent psychologist could have instantly told them what was going on, if Ross had allowed one to even see her.

Notes had been made that Polly would take food from her trays, hording it away in the corner of her cell under her bed. They never withheld meals from her, and the portions seemed to match what they had received on the Raft. Was this something left over from her time with Hydra? She wasn't able to eat any of it during her punishment weeks, but Sam did see that in the day or two before those times that Polly would devour whatever she had stored.

Sam knew that there was also something else going on with Polly, but he couldn't even guess as to the reasoning. There were hours of footage which he fast forwarded through of Polly sitting still on her cot while holding her left hand high as her fingers twitched as she rocked back and forth for hours. She hadn't been restrained at the time and he wondered what she was doing exactly. How could she just sit there for so long? What had been occupying her mind during those hours?

There were a couple of videos of her strangely dancing around the cell to entertain herself since Ross had restricted her from any form of media. Trying to ' _break_ ' her, Ross wouldn't even let Polly have paper books, hoping that if she got bored enough that she would consent to his offer of work. He also watched as she would spend minutes eating a single grape, pealing away the outer skin before nibbling at it. Any skinned fruit seemed to be given the same treatment. There were also numerous videos of her examining her cell, counting every rivet, wall panel, and shower tile. It seemed that at least Polly had tried to keep herself occupied in any way possible.

How could Ross be so cruel as to not at least try to help her get past some of whatever she had been through with Hydra to make her so devastated? Instead, he had only made it worse.

But as he watched the later footage, skipping months between dates, Sam was able to notice at least one of what he could consider an improvement.

Polly's nightmares were still there but either they were not as often or she didn't become as violent after waking from them. The incidents of being chained to the bed because of them stopped after the first year.

But she still liked to fight with the guards when it came time to have the restraints put on, not that he could blame her.

If Ross had actually been nice to her, Sam felt that she might have even considered working for him. But he had taken a heavy hand to Polly and it had turned her against Ross just as much as Hydra it seemed.

Considering what the group needed to immediately know, Sam opened up to one video he wanted them to see that they would find amusing before standing to move a couple of seats over.

"Steve, we all need to have a _serious_ talk," Sam informed him taking the seat next to his.

"I'm guessing by your tone that you found something interesting?" he asked nodding at the tablet in his hand.

"Yeah, you could say that...but maybe disturbing would be a more accurate term," Sam had never seen Steve so unsure before. "That doesn't stem from Polly herself, but what Ross did," he explained, easing Steve's tension some. "But I've learned about what Ross knew of her powers and _everyone_ needs hear this so we can decide what to do next."

Gathering the others so they were close enough to hear, Sam took a breath before he began to explain what the file Nat had copied told.

"First, Polly is _not_ her _real_ name. It's not actually in the file because Ross didn't know it _and_ she _refused_ to tell him. So they called her Polly. It's short for polygraph since she is basically a _human lie detector_."

"So she _is_ an enhanced?" Wanda asked.

"Yes, but Ross' file doesn't indicate how that came about. Not long after arriving at the Raft, she began to refuse telling them any real details about herself...but they were able to get some information from the Hydra agents captured with her."

"So was she Hydra? She worked for them?" Clint then asked not knowing where the story was going yet.

"No and yes," he then told him. "There's no information as to _how_ she came to _be_ with Hydra since by that point in her questioning she refused to cooperate with Ross. According to the agents who were moving her, ' _prisoner name unknown_ ', in the days leading up to Project Insight, Hydra began to clear out some of their bases and secret locations knowing that they would be destroyed by the blast range from the helicarriers. One of the locations was near Washington where Polly was being temporarily ' _housed'_. Less than twenty-four hours until the helicarriers lifted off, they securely loaded her into a ' _discrete civilian moving truck_ ' and were taking her to another location when a drunk driver ran a red light and slammed into the truck, knocking it on its side. When local police arrived, they found her dangling while chained to the floorboards in exactly the same restraints that she's wearing now."

"The police didn't free her after finding her like that?" Scott asked.

"The file indicates that they were more worried about there being a reason for the restraints," Sam explained. "So, they kept her chained up but cut her free of the truck. They eventually got in touch with division under Secretary Ross because of the Shield-Hydra debacle going on."

"Why does she need all of that stuff on her?" Scott brought up. "Is she dangerous?"

"I don't believe so. Polly is able to make people tell the truth by touching them, making eye contact, and then questioning them. But from what I found, if Polly wants to, she _also_ can make them do her bidding as well."

"Great, another psychic," Clint flatly stated then turned a cheeky smile to the person at his side, adding, "No offense Wanda."

Wanda raised her finger with it glowing as if she were going to shock him, but Sam could see the smile on her face.

"That's not exactly accurate, Clint," he told him. "Polly will give a command, but except for having to _physically follow_ that command, the person is still in control of their mind. They know _exactly_ what they are doing."

"That's messed up," Clint said looking over at Polly, who's head was turned to look right at the group. "So what's the deal with her wearing the gear while already on the Raft? Were they about to move her?"

"No and that is the part of her file that is even slightly amusing but also the most irritating," Sam turned the tablet around with the video ready to show them. "This was just three weeks after she arrived at the Raft. By then, she had stopped barely cooperating, so Ross came out to 'talk' with her."

The group watched the video of Ross trying to intimidate her into working for him before getting his own taste of her powers. There were a few snickers from all around as Ross began to punch himself in the crotch, and then mumbles as they watched Polly shocked into unconsciousness for the deed. There were a few times during his stay that he wished to do something similar to Ross, and Polly actually had. He'd watched that interrogation video three times he'd found it so funny. He then continued on with his findings.

"Ross got so mad at her for that stunt that he's ordered the items to be put onto her for two-week intervals as punishment. By then, considering how barren her cell already was, removing Polly's final bits of stimulation and movement was the easiest way to punish her. You might recognize the feeding tube that they use to force her liquid meals into. During these weeks, all that she is given is water and special protein drinks."

"Are you saying she's been like that for almost two weeks?" Steve asked sounding vexed.

"Yes," he told them glancing over at where she was sitting. "As of right now, she is on day ten. Ross decided to have them put on a few days early since he was on the Raft to question us. Since he stood off to the side watching, I'd say he wanted the satisfaction of seeing her secured in person."

There was another unanimous round of grumbling at hearing that.

"To take her to medical to make sure she was still healthy, the guards used that lead pole we saw outside of her cell around her neck to keep their distance. That's why she was covering her neck when we first opened her door. She probably thought we were them. Ross passed along the message that he would have the devices removed if she agreed to his request to work for him. So for numerous times over the past two years, with every refusal, she's been forced to wear them," Sam told them, earning an angry and curious rumble from everyone. "The metal balls cover her hands so she can't make skin-to-skin contact. They don't always go on, only when the guards are irritated with her fighting them, like this last time since she was cursing at Ross who just smugly stood there. And you can see the marks the shock collar left on her neck."

Steve's fist then crushed the edge of the seat next to him which he had been holding onto. None of the group were now happy in any way. For two years, instead of _freeing_ her from Hydra's grasp, Ross had been _torturing_ Polly into trying to agree to be his own lie detector to use whenever he wanted. He was a bit worried about what Ross would want her to do with her other ability. Sam could only imagine what Ross could have found out about if Polly had questioned them.

But luckily , she wasn't cooperating with Ross anyways. It seemed that she liked Ross about as much as they did.

"That's a pretty stubborn girl there," Scott then commented.

"So now the question is, what do _we_ do with her?" Clint asked.

The silence that followed was much too long. Nobody had an answer.

With that type of ability, depending on how strong it was, Sam guessed that Polly could walk right up to someone and tell them to shoot themselves in the head, and they would obey. So far the file indicated that they weren't sure if she was strong enough yet to be capable of doing that all the time, but Ross had been wanting to study her, waiting for the time when he probably _could_ use that talent for himself. His own personal assassin that could make every death look like a suicide.

"Also," he then continued, "according to the file, she is not ' _officially_ ' listed as a prisoner on the Raft. Ross never informed anyone of her existence either. If she agreed to work for him, it would have all been off any records."

The group seemed to understand the idea behind that. If caught, Ross could deny all involvement and knowledge of Polly. He also would not have to risk having her taken from him for someone else to use or control.

"Why does her hair look like that, like someone hacked at it?" Wanda asked getting his attention.

Sam knew that this answer showed just how stubborn Polly really could be.

"Since she would fight the guards so much, they keep it short cut so that it's easier to get the devices on. Every so often when they had her in medical to have the feeding tube put in, while she's unconscious, they cut it again. She didn't even have a chance to stop them," he told them.

"As of right now, I don't think that it would be a good thing to fully release her," Nat told them, all eyes going to her.

"Why not?" Scott asked.

"There's no guarantee that she wouldn't use her powers on any of us, commanding us to go somewhere else, or even just killing us one by one."

"I hate to say it, but your right, Nat," Steve agreed. "We can't risk it right now. We'll get to our location in a few hours. She'll just have to wait until then. If she has gone ten days so far, a couple of short hours will be nothing."

"I hope you're right," Scott said. "I sure don't want to make her angry at me."

* * *

She heard them discussing what they found in the file. They either didn't think she could hear them or more than likely didn't care. So far with their discussion, it seemed that this group was already much better than Hydra or Ross. They were actually talking about removing the blindfold, gag, and cuffs once they landed. The voice Sam was even mentioning giving her real food, not a liquid drink, or that goulash they fed her at the Raft base.

For that treat alone, she might consider…no, she told herself. It was only a matter of time before they turned into Ross…or Keeling. Once they reached their base, if they really removed the items then she needed to take her first chance at escaping. Without the damn items on her, it should be easy.

Hearing footsteps, she felt something brush against her left thigh as someone sat down. Flinching away was a ritual that she had picked up from Keeling, who would have her beaten for the slightest human contact out of fear that she would use her talent on the person. He didn't care if she was restrained in some other way or not. Even after arriving at the Raft, it had taken Ross pushing her for her to finally fight back with its guards. But now she had to start again with learning how fecked she might be.

"Polly, it's Sam," he softly said, not realizing she'd already memorized the sound of all their voices. "We have a few hours before we land. At that time, we'll see about getting that device off and that feeding tube out of you. But I've talked with Steve and he's agreed that for right now, we can at least get those strange cuffs off of you. Even though we are pretty sure you can't, we would like to have some kind of assurance from you that once we do, that you will not try to use your abilities on any one of us. We want to be able to trust you as much as we want you to trust us. Do you understand?"

She nodded, making note that Steve was indeed the one to obey as the leader. She wondered how long this little bit of freedom being offered would last. Probably until they decided to use her talents for their own benefits. They would eventually show themselves to be no better than Hydra or Ross. They just hadn't figured out how to use her yet. But no matter what lies they may be telling her, she knew to obey orders to keep the pain away. Just because they sounded nice, it meant little to her. Ross had ordered the guards to do what was necessary for her compliance, which usually meant the collar. There were a few who liked to drag her through the halls to medical.

Feeling a hand gently pat her left arm, she jerked it away as she edged away from Sam, hoping that Steve didn't punish her for him touching her. She had not initiated the contact, but she'd been taught by Keeling what sort of treatment to expect.

But then Sam's hand moved away, as well as his body, distancing himself from her.

"It's alright, Polly. Nobody here is going to hurt you," he said as she felt him rising out of the seat next to her. "I'll be across the aisle, just so you know."

Another person took his place soon after.

"Hi, there, Polly," the feminine voice from over the Raft radio said, Nat she'd heard her called. "I'm going to remove these cuffs, alright?"

She nodded her head wondering if Nat had taken the keys knowing they would want to remove them later. But as the seconds continued on while she worked on the, she began to guess that Nat was actually trying to pick the lock. It took a bit of time but the first cuff finally released and she pulled her hand from inside the metal ball. Not long after, her other hand came free.

Rubbing her hands together the best that she could, she tried massaging her feeble finger muscles. The cuffs left no room for stretching them straight out, making her hands always aching from the many injuries they'd had years ago. Using them the first few days after being freed was always worst, finding it hard to grip anything firmly, but really that was normal thanks to Keeling. Sometimes they would also get the shakes, but rubbing them would help that.

Nat moved away without saying anymore and she noticed that the cuffs had disappeared with her…not that she wanted them as souvenirs or anything.

Over the next few hours, she sat in the dark and listened to the different team members talking to each other. From the different conversations, she learned about how they had gotten to the base, and what had been happening for the past week since they got there. They were all complaining about how miserable they had been after so few days she wanted to laugh at them. The Raft had been a holiday spot after Keeling.

Instead, she listened and learned, trying to figure out how bad off she was going to be with them. For some reason, Ross had part of their group locked up which meant that they all might be on the same side. They had even decided to take her just to prevent Ross from hurting her.

There was nothing for her to do now while they were in the air. She would have to see how well secured the base they were headed to was. Pulling her arms in close so nobody touched her, she decided that falling asleep would be the best. She would need her energy in case her new guards were slackers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another long chapter, but you'll see a couple of those as the story gets going. I'm simultaneously posting this story on FF.net in case you noticed it there also. Let me know what you think (or even if you happen to spot a spelling error or typo).


	3. Almost Meeting the Almost King

**Wakanda  
Villa of the Royal Family - far outside of city**

As the Quinjet's ramp lowered, Sam began to reach over to unclasp Polly's buckle to allow her to stand up. His hand barely touched the edge of her hip. That was when her entire body flinched away again. She had done the same when he'd first talked to her. He had not taken into account that due to the blindfold that she would not know when someone was trying to help her. He had not tried to hide his steps and though she'd have heard him approaching but with everyone moving about, she probably hadn't.

"Sorry," he told her. "It's Sam. I'm going to help remove the seat straps."

Polly just sat still, again not responding to his comments with even a nod. He took that as his cue to do so.

"If you'll stand, I'll guide you down the ramp," he then told her.

But after Polly stood up, he saw that her free hands automatically went behind her back to clasp together, as if she expected to be secured.

"Polly, we're not going to secure you. You don't have to hold your hands like that," he offered to her, knowing that she didn't have any real reason to trust them except for the fact they had taken her from the Raft.

Standing next to her, he felt more like a guard than someone trying to help. But instead of just putting her hands at her sides, she folded them over her chest as if trying to protect herself, her hands forming small balled fists. He had a feeling that there was a lot more to her than Ross' small file.

"I'm going to hold your upper arm to guide you," he then said before doing the maneuver, getting a strange look from Scott at her stance. But he was starting to get an inkling as to her mentality.

She was more used to be treated like a prisoner than a person, so to get her to respond for now, she might have to be told what to expect, and not given a choice. Once they got the restraints off of her, then she would be free to move around on her own without running into something and hurting herself.

Guiding her, they walked towards where she probably could hear the others moving to. After so many hours, even with the grey clouds overhead everyone was happy to get out of the cramped, confined area. Slowly and carefully, he led her to the ground of the landing platform where they had arrived at somewhere inside the country of Wakanda.

Looking around, he was struck by the advanced architectural details of the villa that they had arrived at. It looked to be formed in the traditional shape of a round hut but on a much larger scale with curved wings jutting out on each side to form a horseshoe. It sat close to the edge of a stone cliff overlooking a river which was formed by a couple of waterfalls nearby located at the rear of the structure. Their spray made the air heavy with moisture. A jungle line was not too far off giving the entire villa privacy.

The front doors opened and he spotted a one-armed Bucky walking out to greet them. Steve had told them briefly about what had happened, how Bucky had lost his arm in the fight with Tony, so it wouldn't be too much of a shock. His eyes were drawn to the black item covering up Bucky's missing arm's stump.

Since it had been he that sent Tony to find them, Sam felt partially responsible for that happening. He might even have to be nice to the dry-humored ex-assassin.

"You know, I'm _pretty sure_ that you were only supposed to pick up _three_ prisoners, and maybe Sam too if you could find him, but definitely _not_ five," Bucky jokingly stated walking towards their group which was lingering on the landing platform.

Leaning over slightly towards Polly, Sam informed her, "Ignore anything that comes from him. He thinks he's as funny as Bob Hope since they're close to the same age. "

Sam knew that she didn't understand the comment, but they would have a chance to talk later on and he'd explain it to her then.

"Special circumstances," Steve told Bucky as he continued holding onto Polly arm, guiding her to a stop. "Let's get inside, and have T'Challa join us if he can, before we start the explanation. He may not be too happy with me real soon."

"What kind of trouble have you gotten us into now?" Bucky asked taking a real good look at Polly.

With his hand still on her upper arm to guide her, Sam was able to feel her body slightly tense up, as if she knew that someone new was inspecting her.

"It seems that Ross decided to keep a prisoner of Hydra's for himself instead of freeing her," Steve briefly explained as they all headed inside. "We'll explain all that we found out in a little while."

Walking with Polly, Sam moved to wrap his arm with hers in a more gentle hold and noticed that through the blue jumpsuit that her limb seemed very thin. He then considered that due to how she had been feed for almost half of two years, she was probably grossly underweight. Her file did state that before each 'punishment time' that Polly was sent to medical for an examination. It seems that even though she was slowly loosing weight that it was not enough of a concern for a doctor to put a halt to Ross' torture of her.

After their discussion with T'Challa, no matter the outcome, he would request that she be examined by doctors to determine her real medical status. Since it seemed like they were only doing what Ross ordered, it was possible that the Raft doctors may have even altered the records to show what they, or he, wanted to be there. They would need to see if what Ross had been doing to her would have any long-term effects on her health.

Steve had told them that T'Challa was granting them access to this out-of-the-way location for their stay. It was a villa that only the royal family and their close associates were allowed to use. Therefore, nobody should be coming here so they would be safe from discovery. There was a private medical staff, a household staff, and guards for the king's protection also here. All of them had been selected to be here for their group while also swearing to T'Challa that they would keep the secret of them being here.

On the jet just before landing, they had also been informed by Steve that they were not staying in Wakanda for longer than a day or two at most. He was not going to put T'Challa out for any length of time, especially considering that the entire world was now very interested in the small kingdom after the bombing in Vienna. He wanted their group away from the prying cameras that were being held at bay just outside of their borders. King T'Chaka's funeral was days away and Steve told them they would be gone before then.

The villa's front entrance was formed of a small circular entry room and beyond it was a large lowered living area. Sam stopped him and Polly for a moment as he took in the view through the wall of windows overlooking a lavish tropical garden with seating area and the waterfalls beyond the cliff-face. It was a magnificent view they would be enjoying for a short time. He was about to ask Polly what she thought of the sight before realizing that she still couldn't see any of it. He would make sure that they returned to this room soon after the items were removed. He was sure that she would agree with his assessment of the villa.

Following their escort through another passageway, they entered a large dining area. As Bucky and Steve talked about how the breakout went, he pulled out one of the chairs and guided Polly to sit in it. Again, she never once even tried to resist or give any trouble. There had to be more to her story, especially since even Ross had no idea how she had come into Hydra's possession. Maybe after they had earned her trust, and vice-versa, she would tell them.

While they waited, most of the group began a careful questioning to Bucky and Steve about what happened in Siberia. Some of the information they had already heard on the jet, but Sam wanted to find out more about what happened with Tony. With his suit being so damaged, there was no way for him to fly out of there on his own. But he also knew that Steve would never strand him there intentionally. He didn't want to bring up such a rough topic in front of the others and figured it could wait until later when they got a moment alone.

After only a few minutes of chatting, a Grasshopper flyer containing T'Challa arrived at the villa along with his ensemble of Dora Milaje guards surrounding him. As he walked into the room, the warrior women fell back to the sides along the walls to be more unobtrusive. But there was no hiding the imposing feeling their very presence made on the group.

"Welcome, Mr. Lang. And it is good to see you again, Falcon," T'Challa smiled at him while giving them both a handshake before turning to Clint to do the same. "You also, Clint...now that I know who you are."

Sam saw a smile from Clint at the comment, and figured it was something that the two of them shared as a personal joke. He wasn't sure exactly when they would have had time to accomplish that. Maybe it was a topic for later too.

"Your Highness," Clint nodded his head respectfully. "Thanks for allowing us to come here. I hope that it will not bring you any trouble."

"Nobody outside of my country knows that you are here, and those here who do, I trust with my life," he told them as he sat at the head of the large wooden table that seemed to be formed of a single thick slice of a very old tree. As T'Challa looked around the group he had been fighting with roughly a week ago, his eyes rested on Polly, sitting near the far end, so very quiet and inconspicuous. "I take it that this _guest_ ," he indicated with his hand towards Polly, "is the reason you asked to speak with me?"

"Yes, T'Challa," Steve nodded. "We found out that Ross was secretly holding only one other prisoner on the Raft and I took it upon myself to… _liberate_ her."

A servant of the villa then appeared in the doorway, catching everyone's attention. T'Challa nodded his approval for her to interrupt.

"Your rooms have been prepared and are ready for anyone that wants to head to them," she informed them.

Most of the group accepted the offer since they already knew Polly's story and were escorted off towards living quarters to get freshened up and changed out of the prison jumpsuits. Steve and Bucky were the only ones to stay with him and Polly.

Over the next few minutes, Sam gave most of the briefing since he'd been the one to read the file. He detailed out the best he could with the events in the order they had happened to her, including allowing him to view the amusing video of her interaction with Ross and the groin punch to show proof of her powers. He had never heard Bucky laugh aloud and knowing what he had done and was capable of, it was an impressive jovial sound.

The entire time during their discussion, Polly sat at the table and never once moved.

"I still wonder at the cruelty of the outside world sometimes," T'Challa stated when Sam was done. "We have had naturally enhanced in our society for generations. They are not treated as such, like a weapon, but instead taught how to control their gift for the betterment of our society, if that is what _they_ want."

"You mean that you teach them how to use their powers?" Bucky asked sounding curious, probably thinking of how Hydra had used Polly for hers.

"We call it 'Alternative Studies', but yes, we do not fear or wish to control those with such powers," he then turned to Steve. "Are you confident in your assessment that she would mean us no harm? If so, I will have my medical staff prepare to receive her to remove the items."

"Yes," Steve nodded while glancing over at Polly. "I know that she is scared but I am not keeping her as my prisoner, like Ross did."

T'Challa looked over at one of the female guards, nodded, and she left the room...he didn't even have to tell her what to do, she anticipated his request.

"So does that mean that you'll let Polly stay with our group while we're here?" Sam asked hopeful, and needing to actually hear it.

"We will have an additional room prepared for her and while she is here, Polly will receive as close to the same status as your group is with being my guests."

Another servant off to the side then left at hearing that, probably to get her room ready.

"Thank you, T'Challa," Steve looked very relieved now knowing he hadn't gotten them all in trouble with his spontaneous stunt.

* * *

There was something very different about this base, and she was not sure if that was good or bad. It worried her since it could effect if she managed to escape from here.

The jet had landed outside and she could hear the distant, constant roar of some strange machine. The thick humidity in the air reminded her of home on a foggy day, lots of moisture. And she was almost sure that she had heard bird calls. But none that were familiar. If nothing else, she was sure that this was _not_ one of the Hydra bases she'd been to before. At least that was partially reassuring.

Sitting in the very comfortable chair, she ran her throbbing hands over the soft fabric and tried to remember the last time she'd felt anything like it. It had been before all of this started, before Ross, and before Keeling, so many years ago. Why would an interrogation room have such a nice chair? Was this actually the base's leader's office they were in? They had not walked very far and most offices were deeper inside of a base's building where they were more secure.

From the introductions, it sounded like the one called T'Challa was in charge of this base. And from what she heard around her, it didn't sound like it was very secure. There was no groups of soldiers moving around and there didn't seem to be guards with guns lining the halls to control people's movements. Even the air which was usually heavily stale with oil and chemicals was lighter, cleaner. But when T'Challa had entered, the sound of multiple footsteps told her that he did travel with guards at least. Did he not trust this group she found herself with?

As Sam began to explain why she was there, she focused her thoughts more on her location, trying to formulate a plan. Their jet had definitely landed outside instead of an enclosed hanger, even though she had not felt the sun. The bird calls sounded natural, not like they were sitting up in the rafters of a hanger. If it was a matter of a simple metal fence surrounding them, she might be able to get through it if a gate was open. If it was any more than that, her hands may become a liability. Thanks to Keeling, she could not depend on them if any type of intricate moves were needed.

The sound of someone nicely laughing aloud drew her back to the others still in the room talking about her. Keeling's laughs were much sinister. Sam had finished explaining what was in the file from the Raft. Now she waited for them to turn on her, to lock her away like the dangerous creature that Ross had called her, like the tool that Keeling said she was.

But then, the one called T'Challa had told of how people like her were treated here, wherever here was. They were supposedly trained to use their powers. Was he lying so that they would allow him to do his own tests on her, to see if _he_ could use her abilities, just like Hydra and Ross? Were they saying all of this as a way to trick her? But when would they have had time to set _that_ up? Were they for real?

She was still trying to figure out the relationship of this group, but Steve and T'Challa seemed to have leadership roles but on different levels. Steve had already mentioned that they only here for a short time. But what did that mean for her? She was not part of their group. There was no reason to take her with them expect as their prisoner.

Would they leave her here to be locked up in the dark when they left in a few days?

But as they continued to talk, there was a decision about freeing her from the headgear. T'Challa was having medical prepped to have everything finally removed.

With it gone, she would finally be able to see and speak...meaning she could hopefully get out of this base and finally be free.

* * *

While the others were still chatting about new information from Berlin, Sam glanced over at Polly. He had waited for her to do something, anything, during their discussion about her, but she sat like a stone in the chair. Didn't she at least want to try and interact with them? Then he began to consider that maybe she knew it was pointless with the devices on.

T'Challa had informed them that in case it was ever needed, this villa had a small medical area on a lower level thanks to the remoteness away from any large cities or towns. The guard that had been sent for medical personnel to come up had returned by the end of their talk. She informed them that nurses would be along shortly to take Polly so that they could evaluate her medical condition. Sam knew that there could be complications thanks to the feeding tube being used on her so many times for so long. He hoped that the news for her was good.

Now as the others rose to leave the dining room, T'Challa headed off with his guards while Steve and Bucky headed towards the wing with the private rooms they had been assigned to. He told Steve that he would wait with Polly until the medical staff arrived, earning him an approving nod. Sam then moved to take a seat next to her.

"Polly, It's Sam," he started and noticed a slight drop in her head. It took a moment to decipher her body language, but he thought he understood. "You recognize my voice. You don't need me to tell you my name every time, do you?"

Polly gave a single slow nod.

"Sorry," he said a bit embarrassed. She may have learned their entire group by now just by voice. "I know that Polly is not your real name, but the file didn't tell me your real one. So I hope that until we can actually talk, you don't mind being called that."

He saw her give a single shake indicating she didn't. After two years of being called Polly, she was probably used to it.

"I'm going to stay with you until the medical team gets here. I'm sure you heard, but they are going remove the feeding tube and devices. You'll also receive a health examination. I can already tell that you are underweight from how they've been feeding you on the Raft. After that, you'll be given a room in the same hallway that all of my team is in."

Again she just sat listening without acknowledging his comments. From the hallway, two women in white lab coats came in while chatting in Wankandan. They actually paused when they saw him sitting next to Polly, more than a bit shocked at what she looked like. Maybe the guard had not fully described what the metal blindfold and gag looked like on her. Whispering between each other for a few moments, they seemed to compose themselves before starting to walk towards them.

"Good afternoon, my name is Kilani and this is Ras'zu. We are here to escort you to medical."

Polly just continued to sit, not acknowledging them.

"I'm Sam. This is Polly. She understands you but she can't really interact right now unless you ask specific yes or no questions," he explained to them, which they both nodded in understanding.

"We will take that into consideration until the devices are removed and we can better converse," Ras'zu told him, reaching for Polly arm. The second she touched her, Polly jerked away just as she had with every other touch she had received so far, shrinking back in fear. They'd just done the same thing he had multiple times. "I'm sorry, I did not think. Polly, I am going to help you up and guide you through the halls and down a set of stairs to medical. Is this acceptable?"

Polly gave a single nod.

Accepting their help, he watched as the two women guided her towards the passageway, and Sam could see that even though she went with them, her body language was tense as her hands simply fell behind her just like they had done at leaving the jet. Hopefully in a short while, they would all be able to have a talk about what she had been through to make her so weary of people and touches.

Sam watched the group as Polly was helped down the stairs while her hand rested on top of the handrail to guide her. He then turned to head down the other hallway, following the direction where the rest of his team had gone towards their sleeping quarters. As he walked, his mind began to fantasize about taking a real hot shower for the first time in weeks.

* * *

She sat on the examination table listening to the flurry of activity around her while wishing that she knew what was going on. Every so often, her paranoia would strike up when she heard a familiar sounds of some piece of medical equipment or a tool being used. She had to keep reminding herself to not panic until they got the devices off of here.

Until they were gone, it was pointless to try and escape.

Wherever this new group had brought her, even though they spoke a heavily accented English, it was not the language they normally were accustomed to speaking when working. When she could understand their speech, nothing told her that they plotting something. But when long periods of time passed in their native language, her mind began to race with all the possibilities of what they were planning to do to her.

Her hands were trembling with a mixture of fear at the darkness, now knowing that the light was just minutes away, and excitement at the possibility of getting out of here. Hopefully they were just at the edge of large town where she could slip into large crowds of people walking around. As long as a gate for her to pass through had a guard, she could just command him to let her pass. At least her legs had never been injured by Keeling since he needed to move her around so much.

Hearing footsteps approaching, the voice Kilani instructed her, "We need just a few more minutes to prepare to have the devices removed. Someone is searching for bolt cutters now."

She just gave a single nod again. Since she could pick up parts of their speech from around her asking about the bolt cutters, she had no reason to think that she was lying to her. Besides, if they removed them and _then_ tried to restrain her in some other way, she would just use her powers to get herself out of here.

"Polly, we are now going to break the lock. Do not do anything once that happens. It will take a few extra moments before they are ready to come off."

Kilani was standing in front of her and she could hear movement behind her. Hands then began to move over the locks she had fiddled off-and-on with for years even though she knew they could not be removed. But she figured it couldn't hurt to try. It took all her composure to not jerk away from the examining fingers from numerous hands. Even when the doctors needed to examine her on the Raft, they had always knocked her unconscious. The only other time she was aware of being touched was for a beating.

Still so much better than when Keeling touched her.

Seconds later, she heard the loud sound of metal breaking before the broken lock was removed.

"Polly, after so long, your eyes will be very sensitive to the light so please keep them closed. We have a pair of special glasses for you to use. I will hand them to you to wear until they have had a chance to adjust to the brightness."

The top piece metal blindfold was lifted away already lightening up the extra weight she had gotten used to dealing with. Even with her closed eyes, she could tell a difference in the brightness surrounding her. They didn't have her in the dark.

Reaching up, she gently touched her eyes for the first time in days remembering how Ross had been there personally that time to demand her compliance. Normally he only appeared on a TV screen but he had been at the Raft base for some other reason and taken the opportunity to see her again. Now that she considered it, Ross' visit probably coincided with this new group's arrival at the Raft. They were important enough for Ross to oversee personally. At least it had been a change in routine for a few minutes.

The guards had knocked her out, applied the ball cuffs, and dragged her to medical, leaving her there so that she and Ross could talk once she woke up. He was just as arrogant that time as on his previous visits. But his questions to her had been nothing new, and she hated him even more now. So why would he think that she would help him?

So she had answered his question with her own about how his sex life was doing. She had no idea he could turn that color of beet red so quick. Displaying her ball cuff for him to clearly see, she'd asked him to guess which finger she was holding up as an answer as to if she wanted to work for him. He tried threatening her so she'd just started cursing at him in response before eventually being knocked out from the shock collar. He wasted no time leaving her to her fate. Once she had woken back up in her cell, she had found out that her own question had gotten her reduced feedings for a week, as if that weak liquid crap they gave her was filling anyway.

Now that she was away from the Raft base, would things really change for her?

Being brought back to the now, she was told, "We are now going to remove the mouthpiece and then feeding tube. Now, can you try to open your mouth as wide as you can?"

She nodded her head for Kilani as hands now began to touch her face. After the initial reaction of a slight jerk backwards, she held in place as they gave a small slow pull so the edge of the mouth-guard was exposed. There was a lot of talking at that point and the movement stopped. For the next minute, the discussions went on around her before Ras'zu's voice sounded.

"Polly, we are going to have to take this a bit slower now that we know what we are dealing with. Please be patient for a few moments."

Sitting there, she felt like she could wait hours as long as the damn thing was finally gone. But she figured that what they had not been expecting was the large flat plate that was inside of her mouth.

Hydra... _Keeling_ had designed the gag so that she was not able to close her teeth and grind on them. Not only did it separate them with a hard rubber, there was a flat metal piece which held her tongue down to the bottom of her mouth. He was not taking the chance of any words being enunciated. There had been many times when her mouth would become dry and she would have to improvise a drink. Luckily the shower had a handle that she could turn even with her hands still secured. Sticking her head under the falling water, it would seep between her skin and the gag to get inside of her mouth. Having to swallow the water after doing so had been difficult so she did it only when necessary. The only downfall was having to sit around in the partially wet clothes.

"Alright, it seems that it will be fine to pull it out, and that it will not hurt you," Kilani told her. "Please open wide again as I carefully remove the gag."

Doing as she asked, the item began to slowly slip from her mouth until it finally was gone. The first thing she did was take a couple of deep breaths, such a simple act that she missed so much.

"We are ready to now remove the feeding tube, which will be unpleasant," Ras'zu told her. "Now, take as deep of a breath as you can. When Kilani starts to pull, exhale the entire time. It will be painful but it will finally be out."

They had no idea how many times she'd dealt with that tube being shoved in and out of her body through the years. Doing as she was told, the moment that they told her to start, she began to exhale. The familiar burning sensation started deep in her belly, traveling up her throat until it reached her now stinging nose. But finally the tube gone. As a bit of residue of bile from her stomach reached her taste buds, she felt the gagging sensation start, the burning in her nose.

"Here, spit into this," she felt something like a bowl put into her hands. Spitting out the foul tasting bile seemed to help. After a few moments, hands took the bowl away once they were sure she would not vomit, but they didn't understand that there was nothing for her to expel. Kilani then told her, "Here are the glasses for your eyes. They will cover the entire eye area with a dark lens. You will be able to see through it, but it will prevent the light from hurting you until you are used to the brightness again."

Feeling something in her hands, she managed to slip them on. A bit nervous since she knew how painful it had been the last time she'd looked around. Ross had not cared that her eyes would hurt after being in the dark for so long. He had not even turned down the lights in her cell during the first days after getting the blindfold off, not that she minded too much, her fear of the dark never having been discovered by him. She had to basically squint with one eye to be able to see anything for a few hours.

Carefully she now lifted her lids to form small slivers. The white room around her was filled with medical equipment around the stone walls, and there were people walking everywhere while trying to keep an eye on her. It did not look line any medical room possessed by Hydra or Ross.

One familiar trait was that there were no windows to be seen leading outside, only the one near the entrance exposing the hallway beyond. There was no mistaking the couple of men hanging around the main doors either. Guards had been put into place in case they were needed. They already had her trapped underground, considering they had gone down a long set of stairs. But they hadn't secured her yet so there was still a chance of escape. She only had to wait for an opening.

"Are you alright?" the lady next to her table with Kilani's voice asked. Her hair was an intricate braided pattern that formed a large, tight bun high on her head. There were small metal beads woven into the braids, unlike any metal she'd seen before.

A gravelly "yes" was the best she could manage after so long of not talking.

She then nodded, looking down at the awful devices resting on the small rolling workbench next to where she sat. Motioning with her hand, she lifted it to indicate that she wanted something to drink. The other lady near her then produced a plastic cup with water in it. At least it seemed some gestures were universal. With her fingers hurting like they always did, it took both of her palms to hold the cup so that she could quickly sip the cool liquid until it was gone.

"Careful, your body would normally need time to readjust to consuming all forms of sustenance," Ras'zu told her lifting up another small plastic cup. "But this is a special formula we have for patients who have been in comas for extended periods of time. It helps to strengthen your stomach lining and restart the metabolizing system of your entire digestive track."

She was pretty sure she understood just enough of that to get that it would help her to be able to eat again soon. That alone made her drink the entire glass to the last drop as she studied Ras'zu's intricate beaded necklace. Looking around, she realized that even being a medical staff that everyone in the room was dressed less strict than she was used to seeing. Even their clothing had bright intricate patterns...definitely not styles found at a Hydra base.

"And for our records, we would like to get a full body scan, if you don't mind," Ras'zu asked her while using her hand to gesture to what she thought was a glass wall.

This was not information that could hurt her so she needed to comply to keep from being thrown straight into a cell. If she cooperated then maybe they would let their guards down long enough for her to get out of here.

Hopping down from the bed, she slowly followed Ras'zu over to it and stood on the soft rubber mat. A series of bright lights lit up all around for the next few seconds but she didn't noticed anything else. She'd never seen this type of technology and wondered how much more stuff was out there for her to learn about.

"We are almost done," Ras'zu said leading her back to the bed.

For the next few minutes, she sat and just looked around the room, happy that she was able to do such a small thing. Even with the glasses, certain areas with brighter lighting would still cause her eyes to burn a bit, but it was worth it.

Kilani and Ras'zu were chatting away while pointing at something on a screen across the room from her when one of the male staff approached, carrying a tray.

When he put it down on the small table next to the examination table where she sat, and she was able to see the unfortunately familiar medical devices resting on it, she knew then that they were _just like Hydra_.

She needed to get out of here! Now!

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. It's about to get hectic for our group in the next one. Thanks for all of the positive reviews and I hope to hear from more of you as the story progresses.


	4. Sam and Polly Get A Chance To Talk

**Wakanda Villa**  
Less Than An Hour After Arrival  


Sam decided that he would never take having a real shower for granted again, not after his time on the Raft. Pulling the shirt of a fresh set of workout clothes on that he found had been supplied for him in his room, Sam was startled as the piercing sound of an alarm blared to life.

Had Ross actually found them this quickly?

Running for the door, he threw it open and spotted a pair of T'Challa's villa guards running through the far hallway. Following them into the other wing and down a level, he found himself looking into the windows at the small medical area that he figured Polly had been brought to. From inside of the room he could hear the frantic loud voices yelling in Wakandan at the unknown situation. The guards burst through the doors to join others he saw already on alert.

Cautiously stepping inside of the room, he saw that all of the medical staff were off to one side, with now four male guards armed with long staffs focused on something on the ground in the corner. Finally managing a glimpse between their blocking legs, the lone object huddled moved a bit and Sam realized that he was looking at Polly.

"What's going on?" he heard from behind him as Steve and Clint joined him at the door.

"I just got here. I'm not sure," he told him.

They could see that the staff had removed all of the devices from Polly but he didn't understand what was now going on. A single guard from the group aggressively stepped closer towards Polly, probably in hopes of restraining her. That was when her hand reached out and lashed onto his lower leg, exposed just enough due to the tribal armor, to touch his bare skin while her other pulled the glasses from her face.

"Get away from me," her weak and scared voice firmly commanded.

The guard then instantly began to back up without even looking where he was going, not stopping even when he made contact with the bed which rolled with his movements. He was crying out in Wakandan to the other guards and everyone could hear the fright in his voice at what was happening to him.

Without any hesitation, he continued to retreat until his back was up against the wall not far away from them. They all watched as his feet continued to move, as if he was still trying to walk backwards through the item. Sam guessed that until Polly somehow stopped him, he would continue to do so.

"A song about walking 500 miles suddenly popped into my head," he heard Clint mumble as they saw the three remaining guards now a bit more hesitant to get near her, backing out of her reach. Polly had put the glasses back on, guessing the light still hurt her eyes.

"Everyone, out!" Sam then commanded, trying to take control. He'd helped deal with plenty of patients who'd had outburst and he could see that Polly's was from fright, not anger. But the guards did not seem to understand this.

The medical staff seemed to have no problem listening to him as they quickly brushed past them heading for the hallway. The guards on the other hand didn't even look at him, and after a moment of discussion in their native language, their blunt staffs suddenly transformed into spears now aimed at Polly. He needed to stop this before the situation got out of hand and someone ended up hurt, or killed. Using the same path as the guard, Sam made his way towards the scene.

Steve also stepped further into the room, going over to the retreating guard and guided him backwards out into the hallway where he kept moving.

"Clint, keep an eye on him until we get this figured out," Steve requested.

"Come on fella, lets take a stroll," he heard Clint joke with the frightened guard from further away but not taking his eyes from the scene.

"What is happening?" he heard the sound of T'Challa's voice from out in the hallway. Sam saw a couple of Dora Milaje flanking him.

"It seems that something has happened with Polly, but we are not sure what started it yet," Steve told him as Sam got as close to where she was crouched on the floor as the guards would allow. They had not actively stopped him, considering Polly more of an immediate threat.

"Polly? It's me, Sam," he said raising his hands to show that he was unarmed, unlike the guards. "Do you recognize my voice?"

Her head turned just enough so that he guessed she was looking at him, but the strange glasses she was wearing were so dark that he could not see her actual eyes. But after a few moments, he saw her barely give a simple nod.

Turning back to the others, he requested, "Could Polly and I have a few minutes alone to talk?"

Steve looked over at T'Challa, who seemed to already be reconsidering allowing her to stay, for his approval. But after a few moments, T'Challa called out to the guards, commanding that they leave the room. Without any hesitation, they stopped pointing their weapons at her and obeyed their King.

When the door closed behind them, leaving him and Polly alone, he took a few more steps closer, stopping and sitting cross-legged on the floor a few feet away, making sure to be out of arm reach from her. Even that little display had been very impressive.

"Well, I see that they got all of that junk off of your head," he gave one of his charming smiles, trying to go in a more lighthearted direction with their chat. He had expected her to say or do something, but instead Polly just stared at him. Her breathing was erratic, still frightened even with the guards gone. He decided to go with the basics. Putting on a charming smile, "So, now that we have the opportunity…hi, I'm Sam Wilson."

As she seconds ticked by, he calmly waited for her response, getting a bit worried when it was taking longer than he had thought it would. She was probably considering her options for getting out of here. But finally, she spoke in a ragged voice.

"Polly."

Raising his eyebrow in question at hearing her used Ross' name for her, so he asked, "I know that is only what Ross, and maybe Hydra, called you. Don't you want to tell me your real name?"

Polly then gave a firm couple of shakes, indicating she did not.

"You can trust us. We do _not_ want to hurt you," he told her.

"They did," she pointed with a trembling, crooked finger over his shoulder.

Turning his head that direction, he saw where she was looking out of the room's window to the hallway where the medical staff had gathered to watch what happened. T'Challa was speaking with them, learning their side of the story. Something they had done must have frightened her very badly.

"Can you tell me what happened?" he asked her.

"They wanted 'ta hurt me, drug me. I won't be taken again," he saw her then eyeing at his bare lower leg. The moment that she reached out for his leg Sam pushed his body backwards to prevent her touch. He needed to calm her down before he ended up walking into the jungle by her command.

"Polly!" he called out. "You are _not_ a prisoner here! Those doctors and nurses are _not_ going to hurt you. They only wanted to do an examination to make sure you are healthy."

"There were needles with drugs! Knives 'ta cut me open again!" she managed to get out before her voice cracked while angrily pointing at the window. He was almost sure that he heard a faint accent from her. But it was her words about being 'cut open again' that helped to fit the pieces into place. That was what had scared her into action. "You're lying to me!"

Now was not the time to try and explain any medical procedures to her. What he needed was for Polly to start to trust them. She needed to see them as normal people…or as close as he could get them.

"You know, I couldn't tell you the last time someone called me a liar," he told her with a smile. She needed to calm down, so he continued, "It was probably years ago when my cousin Marty accused me of eating the chocolate bunny he'd gotten for Easter. Turns out, it was his little sister Amber. We figured it out when she walked into the den with chocolate all over her four year old face. I'm more of a marshmallow Peeps kind of guy anyways. I love biting the heads off of those yellow birds. And between you and me, I don't care what anyone says but the rabbit shaped ones just don't taste the same."

Even with the glasses on, he could see the confused look Polly was giving him, as if he were crazy, but he was trying to get her to focus on anything other than what had happened while also trying to earn her trust. But his strange comments seemed to have had the effect on her that he was hoping for. Her breathing had started to even out as she'd listened to his ramblings. Now that she seemed to be a slight bit calmer, he moved back towards her to where he had been. He didn't want her to think that he was scared of her.

"Polly, I know that _they_ ," he gestured towards the windows, "did something to frightened you, and I'm _sorry_ that they didn't explain better to you what was going to happen. But I'm _sure_ it was only to perform a _necessary medical test_ to help you, _not_ to drug you into _submission_. _Nobody_ here is going to _hurt_ you. But whatever they were going to do as a test, it is _no longer_ going to happen. I'll make sure of that until _you_ are _ready_ to find out if Ross did do any _permanent_ damage to your body. I know that you have no reason to trust us yet, but I promise that we are a _much better_ option than either Hydra or Ross. Could you _maybe_ give us the benefit of the doubt?"

Polly's head turned to scope out the crowd in the hallway for a few moments before stopping back on him. After whatever she had been through, he knew that for her to give strangers any type of trust was a big step. His body eased a bit when she gave a single nod.

Smiling, he slowly stood up and really hoped that his next idea for getting a bit more trust worked.

Reaching out while trying to stay composed, knowing this could backfire on him, he held his hand out for her to take to help her stand up. Polly looked at it, and even with the glasses, he could see the look of fright from her. Then she seemed to focus on Steve, as if waiting to see if he would…

"Polly, do you think Steve will _hurt you_ if you touch me?" he calmly asked.

There was nothing but fear coming off of her, giving small nods of her head.

"That is _not_ going to happen. He would _never_ hurt you and neither would I. In fact, _none_ of our group would every do that."

He could see the mistrust as her mind raced to try and accept his words as truth. He could see a lot of rocky road before them as she learned to trust them. Sam started to think that she was not going to believe him. But moments later, she slowly reached out her trembling, slim hand and carefully placed it in his, allowing him to help her stand.

"Now, how about if we get out of this room for a few minutes and you can meet the others. Maybe later on, if you feel up to it, the nurses can try finish up whatever they were doing to see if you are fine medically. I'll even stay with you if that would make you feel better."

Polly slowly pulled her hand away from his, and at first he wanted to keep it, to show her that she didn't need to fear human contact. But this was new to her, and she would need time. He likened it to a type of PTSD only he had no real idea yet what she might have gone through. Maybe once they moved upstairs, he could learn more of her story so he could figure out how to help her.

She followed him as he led her to the door where the others were curiously waiting to see what happened next. He noticed that she once again put her hands behind her back to walk. The guards followed their movements through the window and Sam could see how disturbed they were by what had occurred. He only hoped that it did not give T'Challa a reason to doubt letting her stay here…or make him decide to put her right back into a cell.

Holding the door open for Polly, they stepped into the hallway where everyone was focused on them. He began the explanation before they even had a chance to ask.

"Polly saw the medical equipment they were going to use. She panicked thinking that they were going to drug, incapacitate, and experiment on her," he explained in a lot of detail to Steve who looked over at her standing quietly behind him before he nodded in understanding.

Their attention was then drawn to Clint and the guard that he was trying to contain up against a wall since he was still trying to walk backwards.

"Polly, could you please undo your command on him?" Steve firmly requested pointing at the guard.

They saw the nervous look that she had but Polly slowly stepped over to the guard. Pulling the glasses down only as far as she needed, Polly placed a single fingertip on his bare hand.

"Ignore what I said," she barely managed to say above a whisper.

But the moment she did, his feet stopped. After a few seconds of staring at her with a scared look on his face, he hurriedly moved to join the other guards a bit further down the hallway.

"Thanks," Sam told her as she turned to face everyone that was staring at her again after witnessing that display.

There was definitely an accent to her voice, Irish maybe, as she asked them, "If I'm not a prisoner, then can I leave now?"

He had noticed how dark the lenses were, wondering what color her eyes were considering the short wavy red hair. In this light, he could also see a small speckling of freckles over her cheeks and nose. Her skin was very fair, but since she'd been on the Raft for two years, it was understandable.

For the answer to her question, the group all looked at each other, waiting to see who was going to try and explain the situation that they all found themselves in before focusing on Steve. No matter what else was happening, even being wanted criminals on the run, he was being put into a leadership role it seemed. It also seemed that Polly fate was joined with theirs for now, but nobody wanted to be the one to tell her that.

"There are things that you need to be informed of first. How about we go somewhere so that we can all talk?" Steve requested, turning to look at T'Challa for his lead.

There was a slightly noticeable drop in Polly's shoulders, not liking his comment. Hopefully she would manage to stay calm until they talked.

T'Challa nodded in approval at the suggestion and lifted his arm to indicate which hallway for them to take to head back upstairs probably to the gathering den area he'd seen earlier. He started walking and the Dora Milaje moved to between him and where Polly was, with Steve and Clint close by. The royal guards were not taking any chances with his safety.

Waiting for her to follow, he noticed that Polly looked hesitant to join them. Sam stepped over so that he was next to her.

"Polly, it will be fine. We want to explain what is going on, what's been happening for the past few weeks," he told her. "Unfortunately, it's not just as simple as walking out the front door."

"Why not?" she asked.

"Let's go sit down so that we can talk. That will help explain a lot. We would also like to find out a bit more about you, that way we can know how to best help you."

Polly looked past him towards where the others had paused down the hallway at the bottom of a spiraling staircase. They were waiting to see if she followed of her own free will. After a couple of long seconds, Polly began walking, easing the tension in his shoulders from worrying about what would happen if she didn't. T'Challa may say that she is a guest here, but after that display, Sam doubted that he would let Polly run around his country unsupervised.

But even as she walked, he could see that she was not comfortable being near them. Of course, she didn't really have any reason to be. All they had done so far was get her away from Ross, like he had gotten her from Hydra, and look what Ross had done. Locked her right back up. She was going to have a lot of trust issues that would take more than just words to get rid of.

The villa was set up with the medical area and staff quarters downstairs, protected underground. The construction was more than a bit modern with some of its design, but it was also very sparse when it came to decorations down here. There was only a tribal pattern imprinted into the concrete wall with a natural stone that shone in the light, almost glowing. Even the floor seemed to be made of another type of stone.

Reaching the top of the stairs, he again saw the large overhead windows that had been frosted using some of Wakanda's advanced technology. His room's large window wall had the same and he had used it for privacy while dressing. With a simple push of a button, they would clear back up to reveal the outside. Sam guessed that it was to keep out any prying eyes from seeing the villa's new residences. They should be safe here but hopefully it was just an extra step for security reasons.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw Polly taking in the domed decorative ceiling above the staircase before her head turned to the large frosted door in the area. The others were slowly heading down the hall towards an open space beyond but they were stealing glances over their shoulders at their new guest. Past the crowd in front of him, Sam could barely see Wanda, Nat, Scott, and Bucky sitting in the lowered den waiting on them. They must have been told that the situation was under control.

That was when Polly slowed at the top of the stairs and he saw her head tilt to the side as if trying to figure something out. The dull roar of the nearby waterfalls caught his ears. He was continuing to move but seeing her stride stalling, Sam began to worry. She turned to look back at him and then past his shoulder at the entire group was now watching her.

Then the light in the small alcove continued to increase, as if a cloud had moved from partially blocking the sun.

* * *

Walking up the stairs behind Sam, she considered that even with them trying to act nice that she needed to get out of here. For all she knew, they were just leading her to a new cell. There was no real decorations at this base, just concrete walls like all the others through the years. It was the lack of windows that worried her the most. She had no idea how far underground she might be this time.

But at least this time she was not shackled. She had obeyed Steve's orders so he had left her free.

When the stairs only went up one level, she gained a bit of hopefulness. That usually meant she was close to ground level. Now she could even hear the roaring of the plane engines outside. She was close to the flight-line!

This was her chance.

Glancing down the hallway past the others leading her along, she tensed up at seeing even more strange looking agents just waiting to help the others take her into custody. She couldn't go that way, walking right into their trap.

That was when the lighting in the domed stairwell began to somehow change. The lights weren't flickering like they needed changing...she knew that sight well. Instead, a distant memory came back to her, one of how the sun would make a room lighter and darker. Inspecting the walls, they didn't look like any concrete or metal that she knew, but they didn't look like windows...unless they had been painted over!

As the brightness continued to grow, she finally spotted a door which blended in perfectly with the walls, the handle being the only difference. Looking back at Sam and the others, seeing them far enough away, she decided this was her best chance to get out of here.

Running for the door, she could only hope that it was not locked and that any guards outside had been ordered to capture her, not kill her.

* * *

Sam could only watch as Polly suddenly sprinted for the frosted glass door only a few feet behind her.

"Polly!" he called out to stop her, not sure of where it led or what type of security might be on the other side.

Her hands fumbled to grab the handle and pull it open, making it hard for her to grasp it firmly. Throwing it open, she quickly ran through it without even looking back. He moved to chase after her.

"Sam! Stop her!" he heard Steve yell as pounding footsteps began sounded on the floor heading towards them.

* * *

She was prepared to just blindly run across the open concrete landing pad she suspected to be here, then figure out which direction to go...but after only a few steps gauging her surroundings, she stopped dead in her tracks.

There was no large stretch of concrete, no guards with guns aimed at her, no planes or helicopters, no fence blocking her escape.

Instead, she found herself in the most beautiful lush, colorful landscape that she could ever remember seeing. Off in the distance, the engine sounds turned out to be waterfalls which roared with plumes of mist in the air. Blue sky was all around with fluffy white clouds dotting everywhere. Thick green grass was under her feet after having left a smooth pebbled walkway. Tropical flowers and plants of every type surrounded the immediate area. There was a sitting area with normal looking furniture.

And instead of the solid concrete walls of as base as she had expected, there was what she could only consider to be a mansion.

Where was the base they wanted to trap her in? Where were the fences that would hold her prisoner?

Falling to her knees, she could only stare at her surroundings, taking in the sight before her. How long had it been since she'd seen blue? Or green that was not a Hydra uniform? Flowers of red that were not...that hated training room's door color!

Inhaling the deepest breath, there was not a single hint of oil, grease, gasoline, or machinery. Only fresh air!

Holding her palms out, she basked in the feeling as sunlight warmed her cold, pale skin.

She was truly free...and if judging by the voices already behind her, only for a brief moment.

But it had been worth it just to see the outside once again.

* * *

Sam was at the door seconds after Polly had gone through pulling it back open.

And what he saw on the other side made him hesitate to go through.

Instead, when Steve and the others reached him after a few more seconds, Sam only put his hand out to stop them from going after her.

"Where is she?" Nat asked trying to get past.

"She's right there," Sam answered as he lifted his chin to indicate outside of the door.

Nat moved to his side so that she could see around him and then she held off from going out.

"What is it?" Scott then asked, too far back to see after having come down the hall to join them. He could see the other's still in the den through the large glass wall.

"Polly's kneeling on the ground," he simply said still watching where she had stopped only about twenty feet after reaching outside.

There was a large patio area closer to the window of the den off to the left side. To the right was the magnificent cliff overview of the waterfalls. Surrounding the entire area's perimeter was lush landscaping trailing off into the jungle.

"Why?" Steve then asked him, looking over his shoulder at her.

"I'm not sure. But we need to remember that she is not our prisoner. Chasing after her like this is not going to instill trust in her," Sam pointed out.

Taking a couple of steps out of the door and onto the stone path, the others slowly filed out of the door behind him, holding a bit back but close enough to hear and be useful if needed. The others opened the den's door and slowly joined them at a safe distance. Sam didn't feel worried that she would attack him, and that there was something unique going on.

And Polly never looked to see his approach. Why had she taken off only to collapse a few feet away on the lawn?

Making a bit of a circle around her to avoid being in her reach since he was not sure what was wrong with her, Sam crouched down so they were at similar heights and just waited for her to speak.

Even though he was in front of her, Polly never once stopped to look at him. She continued to take in her surroundings which were comprised of the inner courtyard garden and high waterfalls off a short distance away. All sorts of tropical plants and flowers were blooming with the numerous trees swaying in the wind. Her hands just continued to sweep back and forth over the grass.

In a simple motion, Polly tore at a handful of the grass and cupped it into her palms. After bring it up to her nose, she began deeply inhaling the scent as if trying to memorize it...or remember it, the idea harshly struck him. Her kneeling form then began to hunch over and he saw that she gently shook from the soft crying coming from her.

"Polly, what's wrong?" he asked.

In a low, unbelieving voice, she stated, "We're not at a base."

He couldn't help the small grin that he gave.

"No, we are not on any base. We're at a villa, a residence of T'Challa's, in Africa."

"But I _always_ get secured at a base," she sadly pointed out while looking up to him.

There was no mistaking the tears running from under her glasses.

Sam looked back at the group, knowing they had heard the comment. All of them looked a bit surprised.

"We didn't bring you here to _secure_ you," he told her. "We are not your _captors_. We hope that we can be your _friends_."

Polly turned to look at him as her head furiously shook, her eyes seeming to dart towards Steve.

In a frantic, low whisper as she leaned towards him, "Don't use that word. Never use that word!"

Playing along hoping for an answer, he leaned a bit too and softly asked, "Why not?"

"The rules. I'll get punished and it will get you killed too."

Sam's back straightened at hearing that. There was a painful story to her remark. Had someone tried to help her and been killed for their actions? It seemed that she was still worried about this 'rule', not taking into account that neither Steve or any of them knew anything about it.

Steve started to slowly move towards them, and Sam knew that he had probably been able to hear her comment, even if Polly did not realize.

Crouching a few feet away, just out of her reach, Steve asked, "Polly, do you think that I would hurt Sam, or anyone, if they tried to be your _friend_?"

He could see the worry on her face as she hesitated to answer him, her eyes seeming to drop to the ground. Steve looked over to the group watching them. Frustrated at the situation and since he didn't get an immediate answer, Steve went to stand back up.

But as he rose, Polly must have taken the action to be an aggressive move as she fell back away from Steve as if expecting a strike from him.

Steve stared down at her for a second before taking a few steps back and away from her, looking a bit unsure as to what else to do.

"Polly," Sam did the exact opposite and moved a bit closer towards her, trying to show that they were not actually scared of her. "Steve is _not_ going to punish you for anything. Neither will _anyone_ else here."

Her head was swiveling around, taking in him and the rest of the group, as if trying to see if anyone disagreed with him. A few moments later Polly moved so that she was no longer cowering in fear but her tense body language stated that she was still hesitant around them.

T'Challa then walked around the group so that he was in front of Polly a couple of feet away, close to Steve.

"I can assure you that nobody in my country will cause you any harm," he calmly and firmly told her. "I have found Steve Rogers to be an honorable man who would not let an innocent come to any harm. And from what I have heard so far of your story, I believe that you are in need of friends like that."

Polly head turned around looking between all of them surrounding her to the others still in the den watching through the large window.

"I can't have friends," she then told them.

Putting on one of his most charming smiles, Sam informed her, "I have a feeling that it's a bit late for that."


	5. First Discussion on the Patio

**Wakanda - Outside of T'Challa's Villa**

"Polly," T'Challa got his and Polly's attention, "Would you like for us to stay outside for our talk? Would you feel more comfortable on the open patio?"

She looked over at the indicated sitting area and Sam saw the first hint of a smile from her as she nodded in acceptance of his offer.

As the others already outside began to move in that direction, he stood and once again found himself offering his hand to Polly to help her up. He noticed that she was a lot less hesitant this time than she had been in the medical room.

The others inside began to file out of the doors, but he lifted a hand to hold them off from choosing their seats.

"Polly, who would you feel the most comfortable sitting near?" he asked her, trying to show that she had the ability to choose and the power to do so.

Looking over the others, she pointed at Wanda and then him. Sam found it funny that she had chosen one of the most powerful of the group but she had no idea of Wanda's gifts. He also noticed that she held her hands a bit strangely, but since they had been in the cuffs for ten days, they were probably sore and weakened from non-use.

So Wanda took up the chair to her left and he sat to her right. The others spread out between the sofas and chairs available.

Out of everyone from the Raft, he noticed that she was the only one still in the prison jumpsuit. All of them had been given a chance to bathe and change while she had been down in medical. He then saw that instead of shoes, she had only been given socks to wear. The guards probably did that to prevent her from injuring them, remembering how she'd drawn her foot up to lash out as they entered her cell.

"I think the best place to start is proper introductions," Natasha started off the conversation.

For the next minute, all of their group stated their name, Avengers code name, and greeted Polly so that she knew who they were dealing with. He noticed that Bucky only told her his name, which Sam could understand. With her time in Hydra, she might jump to the conclusion that Bucky was still under their control and try to run away again.

But when they got to Steve and he explained who he was, Sam saw Polly's brow furrow, as if she didn't like something about what she had heard.

"What is it?" he asked her.

"That's a lie," she turned her head to the side and softly said as if worried about offending Steve. "He died."

Clint then chimed in with a grin, "No, it turns out he was only lost, frozen in the Arctic pretending to be a tub of butter pecan ice cream."

"Not a popsicle?" Nat then asked.

"No, that's Tony shtick. Steve's more _old fashioned_ anyways," Clint responded, earning a moan from half the group at the horrible joke as he looked to think of something. "Polly, you never heard that Shield found Steve in the ice and were able to revive him?"

Polly only shook her head as she looked nervously around the group.

Clint continued, "They found Steve about four years ago. It made world news. You never heard anything about it?"

Polly didn't respond except to shake her head. She looked a bit worried about how they were questioning her, but they needed some answers that only she could give.

"Could you tell us how long you have been held prisoner?" Sam asked.

"A long time," Polly answered simply.

"Knowing the _actual_ time would be helpful?" Scott requested with a grin but still she said nothing more.

"What we do know is that Ross only held you for about two years, since the time of Project Insight. If you never heard about me, we know that Hydra had you for at least two years prior to that. Would you tell us how long they _did_ have you as a prisoner?" Steve then asked, to which Polly seemed she wanted to answer but was still hesitant for some reason.

"Trust us," he simply requested, getting her to turn towards him.

Polly's head dropped then turned towards the waterfalls before she said, "I don't know."

Everyone was looking a bit disappointed in the answer, as if they believed her to be holding back information again.

But Sam didn't. The way she said it made it sound like she didn't actually _know_ the answer.

"Polly, _why_ don't you know how long you were held?" he asked her hoping for clarification.

"I wasn't _allowed_ to know. It was one of the rules."

"Whose rules?" Steve asked.

Again she seemed hesitant.

"I don't want to tell you yet."

Sam wondered if she was hesitant to reveal the name not knowing how much of Hydra had been taken down. Ross didn't seem to have shared information with Polly. Maybe she was worried that they might not believe her if it was someone like Alexander Pierce who, to the outside world, had been so respected publicly.

"How old were you when you were taken?" Natasha then asked, trying to figure out the problem from another angle.

"Eighteen."

Now there was an angry group mumble. They were all a bit shocked to learn that revelation. Seeing how old Polly appeared, Sam knew he might regret asking his next questions, especially since his stomach had just dropped a notch.

"How about when you were taken? Would you remember the date?"

After a silence that was more than a bit unnerving, she responded, "June…2004."

Sam felt the rest of his stomach drop out at hearing that. Steve and Bucky looked over at each other and he could see the matching scowls realizing how long Hydra had kept her prisoner. Wanda looked upset while Clint and Nat managed to hold in their emotions the best of the group. T'Challa was making a tight fist but quietly absorbing the tension from everyone.

Polly was looking around at everyone seeming to try and figure out what was bothering them. Did she not really understand how much time had passed for her? But then he saw her expression beginning to change as if the reason for their discomfort was dawning on her.

"What…what year _is_ it?" she finally managed to ask.

Sam looked over at Steve, dreading to be the one to tell her.

Taking the silent cue, Steve solemnly informed her, "2016."

Polly sat there for a moment without a change in her expression. And then it started.

Her head slowly began to shake in disbelief, while as if recalling every single moment of her captivity. Her nails began to dig into the woven wood of the chair she sat in. Her breathing became labored as her face drew up in agony. She looked to be on the verge of tears but refusing to do so with the audience watching her.

"I didn't think…not for that long…oh, god, that fucking diabhal…"

He could guess that the Irish term meant devil by how it sounded. Sam saw her starting to not only break down but grow extremely angry. Right then he was glad her power was not similar to Wanda's, thinking that she would be leveling the surrounding area. Polly stood up and began to walk away from the group, heading towards where the enclosed garden opened up towards the waterfalls.

"Polly!" Steve called out in a stern voice, trying to get her to come back.

Since she was walking away from where T'Challa was sitting, his guards didn't try to stop her.

"Steve, give me a few minutes with her. Remember, she's not a prisoner so we can't control her like one," he pointed out to him.

"Fine, but she needs to understand that we can't just let her wander off," he told him as Sam rose. "If someone spots her…"

"Steve," T'Challa got his attention. "She is fine. There are safeguards in place so that nobody will find out you all are here. Even the shading on the windows and doors are just a secondary precaution, and really, unnecessary. I am more worried about her own mental well-being."

Nodding his head in agreement, Sam followed after Polly, who was just a few steps down the stone path. He tried to imagine what she must be thinking after hearing that she'd lost thirteen years of her life to Hydra and Ross. So much had happened and she'd missed all of it. Even without understanding the Irish words that she was mumbling, Sam could tell that she was cursing up a storm towards her captors.

"Go away," he heard her wavering voice tell him. She was not crying yet, still in the anger stage.

"I don't think that you should be alone right now," he told her as they approached the open area of the garden closer to the falls. "You've just been told…"

"I know what I was told!" she turned to yell at him. They were still close to the others, who could easily hear her. "That I spent eleven years of my life locked away in a fucking dark, black box thanks to that bastard! All because he wanted to control me!"

"Alexander Pierce was taken down when Hydra fell. You don't have to worry about him…"

Polly glared at him for only a moment before laughing aloud, as if his comment was funny somehow. Her head shook in disappointment at him before saying, "I'm na' fecking talkin' 'bout Pierce, that tainted pussy in a suit!"

Sam was shocked at hearing that, not sure if it was more from the statement or her comical, vulgar words. He had figured that it was Pierce that would have overseen Polly, like he had for Bucky.

"But wasn't _Pierce_ the one in charge of you?" he just bluntly asked.

Polly gave a hard snort of disgust, "Hydra has _worse_ monsters than _Pierce_ working for them," her open hands palm up as she glared hard at them.

Sam knew that his eyes were now wide at hearing that. Since Washington, with Pierce being one of the leaders of Hydra, he'd always considered him the bad guy standard that others tried to match up against. Killing off a few million people in a single day was hard to top in Sam's mind.

But it sure didn't seem that way for Polly.

"Please, come sit back down so we can talk. It's stuff like _this_ that we are interested in," he explained to her. "Only you can tell us your story."

Polly still focused at her hands before her while seeming to consider his request. Even though she still looked to be upset, she started to head back to the group with him following. There were servants putting down glasses of drinks on the table surfaces close to everyone, including next to their vacant chairs. They sat back down as he tried to decide where to take her questioning now.

Bucky then helped by asking, "We could hear what you said from here. When you said black box, did that mean they put you into cryo also?"

She looked a bit lost at the question.

"Cryo?" she answered shaking her head. "What's that?"

"A type of frozen sleep," Bucky answered. "Isn't that what you meant by black box?"

"No," she flatly told them. "I mean a small cell with walls painted black and usually no light."

The members of the group about to take drinks from their glasses paused, absorbing the new information.

"You were kept in a dark cell all alone for that long?" Scott then asked.

He could see the hesitation in her, as if trying to decide whether or not to tell them anything. But then she spoke.

"Only when they weren't moving me around to use," she started. "Hydra would order me to be moved to different bases to question agents. It was always on a secured base, and there were rules as to the type of cells that I could be put into. He wanted to make sure that I couldn't use my powers to escape."

"He? He who?" Clint then asked.

Polly seemed to think it over for a few moments, and he figured she was trying to decide if she could trust them, but then she finally answered, "I wouldn'a tell Ross and I'll not be tellin' you."

There was a mumble throughout the group as they tried to comprehend her comment. Sam noticed that Polly sometimes focused on the movements of the others, watching them drink, before staring at the glass next to her. The thought that she was waiting to see if someone stopped her from taking it came to mind.

"And I thought _I_ had trust issues," Scott then joked of himself trying to lighten the mood. "You can trust us, we're the good guys."

Polly nodded as she gave a slight laugh, "Hydra thought _they_ were the good guys too."

Sam noticed that as everyone considered the comment, that she might be right from her point of view.

Polly finally reached over for the glass next to her on the small side table which was hers. She glanced around a final time, as if expecting someone to say something, which nobody would. But he also noticed that she had a hard time picking it up and holding onto it, having to use both hands wrapped around it. He then remembered how she'd grabbed onto the door's handle, as if it gave her problems too. Sam had only a moment to wonder what was wrong with them. Had they grown weak after being in the cuffs for so long?

They all quietly watched as Polly then downed half of the glass of juice without stopping. Sam hoped that everyone else also understood that her drink was the first real one that she'd had since leaving the Raft. By the way they stopped talking while she drank, it seemed they did.

Once she was finished, Steve asked, "But just so we're clear, Pierce was _not_ the one in charge of you?"

"No, he only had me moved to where he wanted answers," she told them, putting the glass back on the table.

"Polly, would you tell us your real name?" Sam then asked, to which she began shaking her head. "Why not?"

He saw her visibly hunch up on the chair before answering, "I have to keep them safe."

"Who?" Steve asked.

"Me family," she whispered as Sam saw her hands begin to slightly shake.

"You believe if we know your name, then we will hurt your family?" T'Challa asked.

"Ya might try to use them too," she told them sounding very defensive.

Did she really think they would hurt others on purpose?

Steve then asked her, "Why would you believe that?"

"That's what Hydra wanted to do at first, ta keep me in line," she stated as she began to look angry, ready to fight them to protect her family. "Eventually Ross tried to threaten me with 'em, but he couldn't even tell me my name so I knew that he was bréag...lying to me."

It sounded to Sam that they were going to have a tough road ahead when it came to trust for Polly. She'd been lied to by Ross, the one thing that her powers would have confirmed if she'd been able to used them on him again. And her mood swings seemed to be everywhere. But if what she was saying was true, and they had no reason to doubt her, then she'd had no real interaction with people for almost half of her life. She showed anger the most, but Sam could tell that her experiences frightened her all the way through. He hated to think what Hydra might have done to her to instill that fear in her.

"Did they ever _hurt_ your family or just _threaten_ you into believing they would?" Natasha asked bring him back to the conversation.

"Threatened."

That made Sam feel a bit better. At least Polly didn't have to deal with knowing that she'd been responsible for them getting hurt.

"So then Hydra knew your real identity, but Ross didn't for some reason. From what we were able to learn in your file, you refused to tell him and somehow he never figured out who you were," Steve commented.

"Yes. If I told him, then he could not use them against me. By not telling him, I could just refuse 'ta do his stupid tests. Then he could only hurt me."

There was another audible mumble passing over the group again.

"Alright then," Sam then said getting their attention, "So that you feel more comfortable around us, we won't ask your name again. So is Polly fine with you or would you like to change it?"

"Polly."

"Then the next step would be to explain what is going on right now," Steve then sat forward in his chair, elbows on his knees. "We are in the country of Wakanda, in Africa. Have you heard of it?"

Polly shook her head no.

"Because of a couple of incidents, a document called the Sokovia Accords was created. It is a way for the United Nations to control the lives and movements of enhanced individuals. It would also put control of the Avengers into the hands of a U.N. panel," Steve explained.

"Who are the Avengers?" Polly asked.

There was an amused mumble now as everyone realized she'd never heard of any of them but Steve.

"Most of us were," Clint then smiled at her. You could hear how proud he sounded, telling her, "We were the team that fought and defeated the alien invasion of New York."

With an amused snort, "There's no such a thing as _aliens._ Don't talk such blarney ta me," Polly stated while sounding like she knew Clint was lying to her.

"Yes, it turns out that there _are_ ," Steve answered with a smile.

Polly then looked around the group trying to gauge their honesty. Just taking someone's word for the existence of aliens. Dropping her head slightly, she seemed to be weighing some internal debate. Taking her glasses off, she glanced around the group before focusing back on Steve.

Sam could see her eyes clearly now, and he was drawn to them. They were indeed green, which he had believed. But they were such an amazing bright green it almost didn't look natural…unless they were made from fresh, rich clover. He'd only ever seen that color made with contacts. Looking closely, he noticed the detail around her pupil was formed of a slightly darker green, contrasting the overall coloring beautifully. He was surprised to find that her thick eye lashes were the same red as her hair and eyebrows.

Polly then held out her frail hand out in Steve' direction, wanting him to take a hold of it, and Sam knew what that meant.

"I'm hearing a lot of possible fibs right now. Ya want me to trust ya some, then give me a reason to trust ya," she requested as everyone stiffened in their seats.

"You want to use your truth powers on me?" Steve then asked, looking a bit more tentative now.

"If ya are'na lying, ya have nothing 'ta be worried about."

Sam noticed that the Irish accent was back again.

Steve looked around the group for a moments, locking eyes with Bucky. They non-verbally communicated for a bit before Bucky shook his head. He was worried about his friend and what she could do to him. But this would be a big step towards knowing how much their group and Polly could trust each other.

"When have you known me to ever back down from anything?" Steve humorously asked Bucky.

"And look where it's gotten us," he taunted back as Steve moved so he was sitting on the edge of the wooden table before Polly. Bucky then addressed her directly, "If you hurt or injure him in any way, you'll _wish_ you were back with _Hydra_."

"Don't be so grumpy, even if it is expected at your age," Steve shook his head at him with a smile, and getting a few chuckles from around the group. "At least _try_ to be civil."

But only four of them had seen what had happened with the guard. There was no telling what Polly could make Steve do if she wanted.

"How does it work?" Steve asked looking a bit more confident.

"I'll ask a question, either yes or no. You'll answer but you can offer more of an answer if you want but it will only be the truth as you know it," she explained, making Sam wonder about how she'd worded that. Maybe it was something Hydra had discovered and tested before.

Reaching his hand out, Polly took Steve's into hers as she began to stare at him. He noticed Steve's eyes widen a bit and then he smiled at what he saw. Glancing at her eyes, they were now filled with a sparkling glow, like sunlight through emeralds. It was a tale for when she used her powers.

" _Are you really the original Captain America from World War II_?" she started off with, her voice calm yet commanding.

"Yes, ma'am, I am," he politely answered making her eyes widen a bit at hearing that. Maybe she had thought him an imposter.

" _Are aliens real_?" she then simply asked.

"Yes, they are."

Polly sat back a bit as if she had been expecting to find out that Steve was lying, and shocked to now know he had not been.

" _Did they really attack New York_?" she continued.

"Yes, they came from a portal in the sky."

Polly took a moments to mumble something to herself in Irish before turning her attention back to Steve.

" _Were you really there_?"

"Yes, so were Nat and Clint."

Polly then looked over at them, and they both nodded their heads. Sam noticed that as she questioned him, her voice did not hint at a trace of accent, back to a very flat plain tone. Why did it keep changing?

" _Are you going to lock me in a cell_?" she then suddenly asked.

Some of the others mumbled at her suddenly changing the type of questioning, but Steve only held up his free hand to stop them, showing that he was fine with what she was doing.

"No, not as long as you do not become a threat to my friends or try to hurt anyone," he told her.

" _Are you planning on forcing me to work for you or anyone else_?"

Steve was a bit taken back by the question, but he answered, "Never."

Polly then released his hand and put the glasses back on while sitting back in her chair, thinking about what she had just learned. Hopefully that helped her to see that they could be trusted a bit. It had been a very short, but impressive use of her powers.

"Steve, how do you feel?" Bucky then asked.

"I feel fine," he told them as he moved back to his chair.

"Now, with that out of the way," Steve said taking control of the conversation again, "As I was saying, the Sokovia Accords will regulate enhanced individuals. With your powers, you would now fall under them."

"What does that mean?" she then asked.

"It means that the United Nations may consider you a threat if you do not agree to sign and work within the Accords parameters," Nat bluntly pointed out.

"Work? I don'a want 'ta do anything but leave an' go home," Polly's voice sounded strong but emotional.

"We understand, Polly," T'Challa then spoke up. "But right now, if you went home, then there is a chance that you could be taken again, either by what remains Hydra or Ross. With you being removed from his custody, he will probably resume his search for your identity, guessing that is where you would go. If you used your powers and were discovered, then the U.N. could send in their people to have you arrested and possibly put back into the Raft, if you do not cooperate with them."

Sam watched her body language change, and not for the good.

"There's no bloody way in hell that I'll be going back there," Polly looked a bit on the defensive, as if she almost expected them to argue with her.

She really was prone to mood swings he noted. But it seemed that anything associated with Hydra, Ross, or the Raft brought out her anger the most. Very understandable.

"And we don't want you to get sent back there either," he pointed out getting her attention focused on him.

He reached out to touch her shoulder, paused for only a second, knowing that if she was upset she could turn on him, but then carefully placed his hand on hers. Sam felt her arm muscles tense under his touch for a moment before easing up. He would have to work with her on human contact so that she didn't lash out at anyone in fright from an accidental touch.

"I know it sounds like a lot to understand right now, but we will work with you and see what we can do to find somewhere for you to fit into," T'Challa told her. Sensing she might need a break from the questioning, turning to the rest of the group, T'Challa steered the conversation away from Polly and asked them, "I have a conference call in a little while with Tony about the escape. Is there anything that I should be aware of from inside of the Raft?"

For a few minutes as the rest of the group chatted about the conditions they had observed amongst themselves, Sam saw Polly wasn't really listening to the conversations. When someone mentioned a personal event, she didn't make an expression as if she might have experienced similar and she had not said anything for quite a while. He considered that maybe it was still too fresh for her and later on he would see if she would talk about her time in the Raft. She would be able to give the group a whole new perspective on Ross and his agenda.

But as the discussion continued, Sam watched as Polly slowly began to draw her body in on itself while sitting in the chair. It reminded him of what he had seen on the video, her sitting still for hours without moving. Even through she was looking out towards the waterfalls, he somehow doubted that she was actually seeing anything. It was as if she had withdrawn into her own mind.

Leaning over as the others continued to talk, he whispered to her, "Polly, are you alright?", receiving no reaction from her.

"Polly?" he whispered again.

Still nothing.

Reaching over, Sam gently touched her arm.

Polly gave a startled jump only once he made physical contact with her. Her eyes then began to dart around as if she had forgotten that the group was even there.

"What?" she asked, seeming to come back from wherever her mind had traveled.

"Are you alright?" he asked again. "You seemed to have zoned out there for a bit."

Her shoulders hunched in a bit, making her appear smaller, but she finally answered, "I'm fine. I'm still here."

Looking over, he saw that Steve and Bucky were both focused on them, probably being able to hear their whispers from where they sat.

Sam was not sure what had happened to her, and right now was not the time to try and have any type of psychological discussion about the mental state she was in that made her mind completely withdraw the way it had.

"Polly, is there anything that you would like to ask us?" Steve then asked trying to get her to engage. "Anything you need?"

She looked around the group for a few moments before requesting, "Could I have a shower?"

Sam couldn't help but smile at such a simple request, but then he considered that for Polly, that it may seem like a lot compared to what she was used to. He had seen the small shower area in her cell but with the ball cuffs on her hands, she had not even been able to undress to use it without the guards helping her. Thinking along those lines, Sam began to wonder what other horrible things that she might have been subjected to during her 'punishment weeks'.

"Of course," T'Challa stated, lifting his hand so that a servant that had been standing off to the side of the room approached him. "Ilani, please show our guest, Polly, to her quarters and make sure that she has some clean garments to choose from during her stay with us."

"Yes, Your Highness," she female servant said before moving towards the hallway where their rooms were located.

Sam saw the nervous look that overcame Polly, but he reached out and gently touched the back of her hand.

"It will be fine. All of our rooms are in that hall. Take all the time you need. Once you are ready, if you want some company, I think the team is probably going to just stay out here for a while talking until dinnertime. Just come back out and join us if you feel like it," he told her as she stood up. "We will be here to answer any questions that you do think of."

Polly nodded and then headed off with the servant. Once they were gone and safely out of earshot, the real discussion began.

"Steve, what can you tell us about what she did?" Bucky asked wanting to know more about the truth touch.

"It was strange," he told them. "I actually tried to lie and say that aliens didn't exist, but when I spoke the truth came out. It was like I had no control over what my body said even though my mind wanted to say something else."

Bucky scoffed at the comment, "You? Lie?", earning him a shove in the shoulder from Steve.

"Did it hurt?" Scott then asked.

He and Wanda had been very quiet for most of their talk.

"No, it just felt like a normal touch. But her eyes were amazing. I've never seen anything quite like it. They actually glowed as she questioned me."

"Considering her accent, hair, and eyes, I think we can _all_ agree that she's from Ireland," Sam spoke up, pointing out her background. He then offered up, "And I'm sure the only reason she lashed out at the medical staff and guards was because she was scared. Polly's been a captive and prisoner for a lot of years. The fact that she talked with us the way she did was pretty amazing in fact. Trust issues are just one of her symptoms, but she has already told us more than she did Ross. But keep in mind that she's going to have outburst of emotions for a while, just like you saw when mentioning going back to the Raft. I'm pretty sure that she is going to have some form of PTSD that will start appearing over the next couple of day now that she has some freedom. She's not used to having that."

"With how long she was held by Hydra, do you think we need to worry about Stockholm Syndrome?" Wanda asked looking between him and Nat.

Shaking his head, Sam answered, "I'm afraid I don't think so."

"What do you mean?" Steve didn't sound too happy about his admission. "Wouldn't her _not_ having it be a good thing?"

"You would think so, but then you have to consider why she _wouldn't_ have it. With the few outbursts she's had when mentioning Hydra, if she was sympathetic towards them then I would suspect her to not be so vocal, to try and hide that fact. But her anger seems very genuine. Since she gets so angry when they're mentioned, I suspect that there's a good chance that she was so abused and hurt during her time with them that she was never given the chance to become sympathetic. Consider what she's already told us about her time with them: a dark cell, having a possible 'friend' killed, not even knowing how long she was held...that's not typical treatment for a prisoner you're trying to eventually get to willingly help you."

Sam watched for a few moments as they all considered his words. Bucky was the only one who had long-term exposure to Hydra but his time was significantly different. They'd wiped his memories to insure his loyalty to them. To him, it seemed that Polly was almost treated as an enemy combatant for most of her time with them, receiving harsh or cruel treatment to insure she did as she was instructed.

"T'Challa, is there some way that your people can try to find out who Polly really is?" Steve then requested. "I know Ross didn't have any luck but maybe being able to talk with her family, or at least know that they are safe might help her to trust us a bit more."

Sam felt that was a good idea. If she could see that they were trying to help her, and not control her by just saying she had to be here, then maybe she would feel better about being around them.

"I will see what we can find," he told them.

"I might have an idea as to how to accomplish that," Nat spoke up. "I'll work with your people, if that is all right?"

"Yes, any assistance would be appreciated. Polly has been out of…well, really, she might never have been in a lot of computer systems with how long ago it seems she was taken. I would suspect that Ross might have searched through the Hydra files released online and still have not found information on her. But he might not have known what to look for with so much now being out there. Otherwise I believe it would have been noted in her file."

Sam knew that he was right with that

"So, now that _we_ are here, what does that mean for _us_?" Scott then asked.

Sam knew that he was probably thinking of his daughter Cassie and when he would get to see her again.

"For right now, we need to lay low. We are going to have to move out from here very soon but we might have useful information soon," Steve told him. "Nat's already keeping track to see what Ross puts into place before any of you who want to try and go home actually does. I'd hate for any of you end up back in the Raft. If you do, you'll probably be there much longer on a much longer vacation."

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If everything goes fine with editing, I'll keep trying to post new chapters on Mondays and Fridays. FYI: Since it's never been stated, let's go with Anthony Mackie's age for Falcon, meaning that around this time (MCU movie release dates) that Sam would be about 38 years old. This puts him only a few years older than Polly.


	6. A Nice Hot Shower

Looking around the massive room before her, she tried to figure out what was going on.

There was no way she had been brought to the right place. She could easily fit a dozen of her Hydra cells inside of here.

The single bedroom she was currently standing inside of was huge compared to anything she remembered of her parents' house. Except for the medical room a few minutes ago, the last time she was in such an open space had been the Hydra training room.

"This isn't right," shaking her head as she told the woman who had escorted her.

"Yes, this is the room assigned to you," Ilani told her with a kind smile. "This door leads to the bathroom and the other is a closet. The lights are voice activated and you can control their brightness by speaking. Lights, fifty percent."

With that spoken, the room's overhead ceiling lights began to turn on and she smiled at how the room responded to the spoken command. It was like watching Star Trek.

"I will return soon and put you some clothing that should fit you into the closet. Let me know if you need anything else by pressing this button," she indicated the item a couple of inches above the wall's manual light switch and smiled before leaving.

Glaring at the closed door for a moment after Ilani left, she waited for the familiar sound of an automatic lock engaging...which never came. After a few more seconds, she reached for the door's handle, testing to see if it was really unlocked. With a smile, she then childishly proceeded to quickly open and close the door a couple of times, stopping before deciding to test the lights.

"Lights, off."

With that simple phrase, the room grew barely darker considering the large glass window that formed the far wall. But it was dark enough in here now that when she removed the protective glasses, her eyes no longer hurt. The clouds had moved on, letting in a lot of sunlight. Walking over to the glass, she found that it was just past the patio where she had just left not long ago.

Seeing the strange group still sitting out there, she watched for a few moments as the group chatted and laughed amongst themselves. They looked very comfortable with each other, even the mean one called Bucky. Even with only having one arm for some reason, she could tell that with the fading bruising on his face that he'd recently been in a fight. Maybe the same one Sam had been in considering his black eye.

Maybe she was being slightly unfair with that assessment.

Out of all of them, Bucky seemed to quickly consider how dangerous she could be towards his friend, even if the others hadn't. One quick sentence and he would now be dead. Every so often Bucky would point at Steve, say something and the others would laugh while Steve looked embarrassed. They must have known each other for a while, and he was just being protective of his friend.

They all really were friends to at least each other.

Had Sam been right when he said that they were hers too?

That would have been a deadly term a while back, but she was no longer under Keeling's control. And it seemed that for right now she might be stuck with this group as long as she didn't frighten them. Steve had even admitted that unless she tried to hurt them that he would not lock her away, and he was definitely the leader of this strange group. Her quick questions even told her that at least he was not planning on keeping her a prisoner.

Maybe Sam was right and that she needed to give them the benefit of the doubt, which meant trying to give them even more answers.

If it came down to it, she could always escape later.

Walking into the bathroom, she flipped the lights on and couldn't stop the smile that formed at seeing a real one for the first time in years. Stepping inside, she realized that the bathroom alone was larger than her Hydra cell. There was a walk-in glass-walled shower for her to use. No more being hosed off or having to deal with guards watching her! And she guessed that it even had _hot water_! Checking out the ceiling corners of the bath, she couldn't find any type of cameras like normal. Closing the door, she pushed the lock, giving her a privacy that she'd missed for so long.

This was the first time she had been in charge of her own space in so long.

Movement to her side caught her attention, and she found herself startled by her own reflection. Her cell at the Raft didn't have a mirror for fear prisoners would break them to use as weapons. Besides, what need did a prisoner really have of a mirror? To look good for the guards?

Her mouth dropped open as she studied the strange familiar face looking back at her. She had always been a bit pale being a proud ginger, but after so many years in the dark, she looked practically spectral. Her freckles stood out more than they ever had. Her hair was a short, hot mess, greasy and unkempt. But her eyes, the unique multi-tones of green, they were still the same. Even with not having seen herself in so long, there was something more fun and interesting waiting for her to do.

Turning the knob on the shower, she held her hand under the water for a few seconds as it quickly warmed up…and then turned _hot_!

Now she really had a smile going as she stripped off the jumpsuit she'd been wearing for ten days now.

Sitting on the built-in stone seat of the shower, Polly let the almost too hot water just fall on her, reveling at the feeling. Keeling had not given her showers, only instruction to hose her off with cold water every couple of days when he deemed it necessary. Showering on the Raft base had been a nice change, even considering she didn't have anything but lukewarm water to wash with.

Then there was the fact that unless she accepted a guard's help with the jumpsuit during her punishment weeks with the hand covers, she would usually go the two weeks without bathing. She had learned which guards liked to watch or got too handsy, and which ones would leave the cell to give her a few minutes of privacy.

Looking down at her scarred skin, Polly ran the tips of her fingers over one of her tattoos, designed with mixed bright blues, greens, and purples. It was the only one that she wished she had never gotten…the triskele. The Celtic symbol was three joined spirals that represented a person's actions and the universe's reactions to it. A symbol of moving constantly moving forward. For her as a teenager, she had gotten it in hopes that it would help her to find her place in the world.

And unfortunately it had horribly gone wrong.

When Ross had first retrieved her from Hydra, he'd had the guards strip her down bare so that one of them could make a listing of all of her tattoos and research their meanings. Hydra had done the same to her many years ago, and having it done again was a harsh reminder of that scary time. Neither Ross nor the extra guards averted their eyes as the pictures were taken of her. Keeling had made her lose her modesty long ago so she had just stood there, knowing they would either restrain her or just do it again later.

The next day, Ross had her brought to the interrogation room so that he could question her again. This was during the short time she was cooperative towards him thinking that after answering his questions he'd release her. Being new to the Raft base reminded her so much of how she felt right after being taken by Hydra. Worried Ross would be as harsh, she'd even told some of the stories or reasoning behind the tattoos. Seeing and hearing the name so similar to triskelion, which would now be forever associated with Hydra, Ross had taken that as a sign of luck for himself.

He'd taken away Hydra's toy to make it his own, he'd told her that day.

His words were her first clue that he was not going to let her go, helping with her decision to stop being cooperative with him.

Seeing a razor mixed in with the numerous bathroom products, she decided that if she wasn't allowed to use it, then they would not have supplied it. Over the next few minutes, she shaved everywhere necessary for the first time in over a decade. It seemed that Keeling and Ross were on the same wavelength in this case. Both of them would allow the use a special cream every so often to removed body hair. Neither one of them would ever have trusted her with a razor.

Using the shampoo and cream rinse that was supplied, she washed her short, scraggly hair multiple times, questioning if she could let it grow out. She wondered if her parents would recognize her with how she looked now after so many years. The last time they saw her she had shaved the sides into a thick-width Mohawk with the top being very long which was braided to run between her shoulder blades. Keeling had it cut off within days of her being in his possession. He pointed out that it was a useless item that would only impede her head restraint being properly applied.

She did not know what to do with her hair now that she had the opportunity. After so long, she really didn't feel like the rebellious teenager she used to be, even though her mom had liked the fun cut. Hanging out with her cousin Quinn and his friends, she needed to look just as tough as they acted. But thinking about how much she used to get into trouble, it made her realized that she also needed to watch her footing with this new group. Would they let her grow it out?

One mess up and they could easily overpower her and put her back into the darkness of a cell before she had the opportunity to get free of them. And if she had already started to grow out her hair, how bad would they treat her as compared to Hydra and Ross?

But...if this group really _was_ as nice as they seemed to be, even if they locked her up then maybe they wouldn't shave her head again to put the gag and blindfold back on. The guards had just been lazy, only chopping it shorter every couple of months to get it out of the way. It was probably about time for them to have done it again.

So far this new group didn't seem scared of her like Ross had, but then it had only taken for a single experience for him to fear her. Steve had said she would be free as long as she didn't threaten his group and none of them had seemed scared after his questioning. She was still a bit shocked that not only had Steve done that but also by his other answers.

Aliens. _Really_?

Maybe they would let her ask a few more about what they intended to do with her. If she got honest answers about that, then maybe she really could trust them. Sam seemed the least scared of her, actually touching her skin, trying to help calm her or to get her attention. None of the guards would do that…without the headgear in place. Would he agree to a few questions?

Looking at her wrinkly fingertips, Polly turned the water off and began to dry off. Using the brush from the countertop, she gave a few passes through her hair before leaving it more slicked back away from her face. As long as it didn't cover her eyes to impede her powers, she did care right now how it looked.

Stepping into the closet, she found the clothes left for her to wear. Putting on the simple linen shorts and sleeveless top, she felt a bit odd. Both Ross and Keeling liked to keep her in long sleeved and legged prison jumpers. They didn't want to take the chance of her touching anyone with bare skin. Sitting on the patio earlier, it had been warm and this would feel so nice to wear in the sun. Considering the clothing, if this group didn't want to risk her exposed skin then they would have ordered long items for her. There was a pair of leather sandals that somehow fit her feet perfectly. How would Ilani have known her foot size?

Outside of her window wall she could tell that it was late in the afternoon with the deep shadows that had formed over her jungle view. The sun must be setting on the opposite side of the building, meaning that she would have a sunrise view over the waterfalls. Maybe in the morning she would wake up early enough to enjoy it.

If this new group were what they claimed to be, maybe she could ask them to get her home eventually. She had always wondered what her parents though happened to her since she had not come home that night. Did they find her car abandoned on the side of the road? Were they still looking for her? Ross had claimed that Hydra was now so shattered that they didn't have the ability to take her from the Raft even if they knew where she was. Did that mean that they wouldn't find her if she went home? From what she was just told, Ross never did learn where she was from.

And if he secretly had, Ross didn't use it against her.

Opening her bedroom door, she looked into the hallway and found that her eyes seemed to have adjusted so she decided to take a chance and leave the glasses behind.

Stepping slowly out into the hallway, she made her way to the large gathering room just inside from the patio. The large glass doors had been open to allow the warm breeze to flow through the room and she could hear the happy voices of the group still talking. One of the female guards was standing close to the doorway and was watching her very closely but she didn't trying to stop her from going anywhere. Seeing her with her bald head, holding a spear, she was an impressive, imposing figure.

* * *

Seeing the female returning from her room, Ayo could tell that she looked much better than when she had left. Her eyes were drawn to her too-thin arms with scars and tattoos, making her lip give a slight approving hitch. To her, they told that this one had been through much in her short lifetime and still she stood there having overcome those trials.

Polly's approach began to hesitate as she drew close to the open door area leading to where the group still talked. Her eyes became downcast as she stopped just out of sight of the patio. Ayo began to suspect that she knew what was going on.

Taking a couple of casual steps to the side, so that she was closer to Polly, she turned to survey the interior of the villa so that none of the others could see her question Polly.

"You do not wish to join them?" she asked in a very low voice that none of the others outside would be able to hear.

Shaking her head gently, she whispered back, "I just met them. I don't know if I can really trust them yet."

That answer _did_ make a slight grin appear along with a faint nod at the answer, telling Polly that she approved.

Glancing over her shoulder, she caught Okoye's attention and gave a indiscernible tilt to her head to indicate Polly's location, while raising her eyebrow a hair to ask if she was aloud to let her stay at the location. Okoye returned an answer with a slight nod to her head, telling her she approved.

"Then I do not see the harm in letting you snoop a few minutes," she told Polly with a smile before casually moving to the other side of the doorway.

For the next few minutes, they both listen to the casual conversations which helped Polly learn about the group that had taken her in.

* * *

Sam chatted with the rest of the group for a while, and every so often he would turn towards the doorway hoping to see Polly returning to join them. But he began to suspect that after her shower that she might have fallen asleep after the day she had.

His mind began to wonder about all the strange problems that she might have while trying to acclimate to being free from both Hydra and Ross. Just seeing outdoors had been overwhelming to her. Because of that, she was either going to want to spend a lot of time outdoors or maybe the exact opposite where being in such an open space might overwhelm her at times. There was a chance that it might be a bit of both.

Sam then considered her accent. Was she really from Ireland or just of an Irish descent? Her pronunciation changed every so often, switching between the two, but definitely more bland when she had been questioning Steve.

Hopefully Nat would be able to answer that question. Helping her reunite with her family in some way would go a long way to establishing a trust with her. Even if she couldn't go home thanks to the Accords, it would be a big step in easing her fears of them.

The only thing that they knew for sure about Polly was how Ross had gotten his hands on her. A traffic accident just days before…Project Insight.

"Guys," he said getting everyone's attention during a lull in the conversation, "I was just thinking about how Ross found Polly. She was being moved from a base just outside of Washington because of Project Insight. Do you think that she knows anything about it, or maybe even any other project that Pierce was working on that we haven't heard about yet?"

"Are you thinking they had her in Washington maybe for a specific reason?" Clint then asked.

"With her ability to make someone tell the truth, Pierce might have been keeping her close to him for as long as possible," Steve pointed out. "He needed to be able to trust everyone on Project Insight to not betray him. Using Polly would have assured him of that."

"Why don't you just ask her?" Bucky then stated getting everyone to look over at him. "She's been standing just out of sight in the den for about ten minutes now just listening to us."

Every head on the patio then turned to look towards the open doorway where one of the Dora Milaje was standing. But due to how the chairs were positioned just off to the side of the patio, nobody had a good view of it. Including Bucky. The guard turned slightly to look to the side with a small curl of her lip at Bucky's revelation. She had to have allowed Polly to stay there, and not considered her a threat in doing so.

Polly then hesitantly stepped outside looking a bit embarrassed at being caught. Her eyes were no longer covered by the glasses, exposing the same bright green as earlier. The clothes she had changed into were normal lightweight ones for the warmer weather here. He could tell from how thin her arms and legs were that she was indeed very underweight from the pathetic liquid diet Ross had imposed on her. It would probably take a couple of weeks of normal meals before she put on any weight.

But Sam's eyes were then drawn to the numerous colorful tattoos all over her now exposed arms and legs. As she drew closer, he could make out that most of them on her arms were recognizable as Celtic symbols, none of which he actually knew the meaning of. He counted at least six that everyone could easily see. The largest one was comprised of a mixture of delicate looking flowers flowing up from her ankle to the back of her right knee. Blues, purples, pinks, yellows, all on soft green stems.

"How did you know I was there?"

Sam pulled his gaze away from the design, and wondered how many tattoos Polly had. He had skipped over that part of her file, not thinking it pertinent.

"Because that's what Hydra trained me to be able to do," Bucky responded with a sad smile but the change in Polly was instantaneous.

Her entire body stiffened, her arms extended in front of her for protection, and she began to hurriedly back away from where Bucky was sitting heading for the glass wall. Once her back was against it, Polly's frightened eyes never left Bucky.

"Polly," Sam quickly stood up to head over to her. He could hear Steve lowly reprimanding Bucky for just spitting the comment out. "It's alright. Bucky is _not Hydra_. He never _wanted_ to be. He was a _prisoner_ of theirs just like _you_ were."

Hearing that, her eyes finally turned to him and he could see her thinking about what he told her.

"How do you know he's telling the truth?" she asked with all seriousness.

"Because he's my best friend," Steve then told her.

Turning to him, Polly sarcastically asked, "And what is that supposed 'ta mean ta me?"

Sam looked over at Steve and shrugged his shoulders in response.

"I guess absolutely nothing," Steve answered a bit humorously.

"You don't have to worry about anything from Barnes except for old knock-knock jokes and bad puns. Come on," Sam offered his hand to her, getting her attention back to him. "We left your seat open for you."

But with her arms still protectively extended out, being this close Sam couldn't help but notice the condition of them, and he didn't mean the colorful tattoos.

There were numerous scars over her arms and glancing down he found more on her legs, but it was the other items on her arms that made him nauseous.

Permanent scars that reminded him of needle track marks.

Taking a holding her hand, Sam turned her arm upright to see it better. Reaching out, he took her other hand and was able to see matching ones there. They were faint, as if they had happened long ago and he had a feeling that Hydra was responsible for them. Polly earlier comment about them 'opening her up again' now took on an even darker meaning. He would wait until much later to speak with her about the scars.

Polly realized what he was looking at and tried to pull away from him, but this time he didn't let her.

"You're safe with us. Nobody will ever do this to you again," he tried to be reassuring, not sure if the other knew what he was talking about yet. Wanting to verify what he suspected, he asked, "Was this done by Ross or Hydra?"

"Hydra."

"The other scars too?"

Polly nodded as she looked past him to the group. Glancing over his shoulder, they were all very focused on what he had found and were listening very intently to them talk.

"Everyone here has dealt with Hydra in some way, some more than others. And we all know what they are capable of."

"I haven't dealt with them," Scott then had to point out.

"So you're the lucky one?" Wanda joked at him.

Getting a weak smile from Polly at hearing that, Sam led her back over to the empty chair she had occupied earlier. He could tell that she was weary of Bucky and was keeping an eye on him a bit better now.

Leading her to the seat next to him, Sam asked, "Could we try asking you some questions again?"

She looked around the group but he noticed that she looked a little less scare than before she'd gone to her room.

"Polly, we wanted to see if you know anything about what Alexander Pierce was working on?" Steve started off with.

"What do ya' mean by was?" she asked about the term.

"He's dead," Sam explained.

Everybody could see the wide smile that appeared on her face.

"How?"

"During the launching of the helicarriers for Project Insight," Nat offered. "I was there when he was shot and killed by Nick Fury."

"I know that name," she said interesting everyone.

"How?" Steve asked.

"I did hear you talking earlier. Pierce needed to make sure that the Hydra flight crews who would be on the helicarriers were loyal to Hydra. He used me to question them. One of the questions asked was if by working for Shield if they had developed any loyalty to Nick Fury over Hydra."

"Did any of them fail?" Natasha asked.

"No, not that time."

"That time?" Scott questioned.

"I've questioned a lot of people," Polly hesitantly answered without elaborating but Sam was sure he could guess the rest.

"And what would have happened to those that did, Polly?" Steve prodded.

"Depending on how disloyal they had become, they would eliminate themselves."

Sam, finding that a curious way to say that the agent had been killed asked, "Polly, what do you mean by that?"

He could see the worry on her face, but then she explained.

"At first, if an agent failed his loyalty questioning, he would be eliminated by another agent. But once he…Hydra figured out how to make me control others, they used the questioning as a way to further test my ability. They were given a gun with a single bullet which I told them to put to their heads. The questions were always yes or no. If they answered yes to any of the questions for that test, they were to pull the trigger immediately. But for Project Insight, since they were needed, if they failed, I was supposed to command them back into Hydra's loyalty."

There were numerous gasps and murmurs from the entire group. Polly had made the people kill themselves, just as they had predicted that she could. But Sam had also noticed a light hesitation as she had spoke, noticing the change from 'he' to 'Hydra'. Did she mean Pierce? Considering her comment earlier about having 'worse monsters' Sam was not sure. There had to be more to that part of her story.

"Their own will to live didn't override your command?" Scott asked after a few seconds.

Polly shook her head.

"None of them did."

"Do you have any idea how many agents you've witnessed failing questioning?" Clint asked curious.

"Thirty-one _permanently_ failed. Ninety-two _temporarily_ failed, including the last two I ever questioned after arriving in Washington."

Sam noted the strange way that she had kept track of probably every agent she felt she had part of their death in.

"But you just said that none failed for Project Insight," Nat pointed out.

"The two questioned that failed were for something different. Project Winter Solider."

Every eye in the room was now turning to face Bucky, who looked like he had been put on the spot like never before.

"What?" Polly asked.

"Polly, we all know what Project Winter Solider is," Sam tried to figure out how to delicately handle this, "What did Hydra need you for concerning it?"

"Every member of the medical staff and the technicians that did something for it were tested to make sure they would not betray Hydra. They had me question the Russian Hydra strike team that would be working for the project. They also had me question the agents brought in to work as guards on the project during down time."

"And two of the agents you questioned failed?" T'Challa asked.

"Yes. The strike team guys failed the same question. Hydra wanted to make sure they were as ruthless as they needed. They were questioned as to if they would allow a target to escape due to preventing a civilian from getting hurt. They said yes, so I was then commanded to make them kill as necessary to complete the mission. They were useful to Hydra so they got to live. But there were others over the years that were not as necessary so…" Polly then pointed her hand shaped like a gun to her head and motioned as if she had pulled a trigger.

"That's a bit cold," Scott pointed out her gesture.

"They were Hydra. They weren't nice to begin with so I don' really care if they're feedin' worms right now," Polly plainly stated.

Sam heard a rumble starting to form amongst his friends.

"Guys, think about it. Considering what Polly has gone through for so long because of Hydra, she doesn't have to give any sympathy towards the people who kidnapped her and held her prisoner," Sam pointed out.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting a bit of payback. Every one of us here has killed for one reason or another," Clint then pointed out. "All Hydra did was dwindle their own ranks one agent at a time."

"Alright," Steve then said getting the groups attention back to him. "No matter what, Polly, I'm sure that none of us here think that _you_ did anything wrong. It was Hydra that put you into a position that made those incidents occur."

"That's good because I want to know what you plan to do with me," she plainly stated looking more at Steve and T'Challa for an answer.

But both of the men just looked at each other for an answer that they didn't have yet.

"For the time being, you will be considered a guest just as the others are," T'Challa answered. "We do not intend to _do_ anything with you. As long as you are inside of my country, you will be safe from Ross until we can figure out if it would be safe for you to return home, if that is what you want to do."

"Of course," Natasha spoke up, "Knowing your real name and where you came from would be a big help to figuring out how safe that would be."

Polly shook her head in response.

"Even with questioning Steve, I don't think that I'm ready to do that. Yet."

Steve then took over, "Then for the time being, we are at an impasse. Maybe once you trust us a bit more, then we can help you better."

"Maybe," was all Polly said.

Sam knew that she had no real reason to trust any of them right now. All they had done was take her from one prison and put her into a new type of containment, one comprised of a nice room in a foreign country.

"So then," Clint started, "Do you know about any other Hydra projects or anything Ross might have been working on?"

"Ross, not so much. Once I figured out he was a bogán, I didn't bother helping him at all."

"Bogán?" Sam asked for the group, not recognizing the word.

"A spineless sap, weak," she explained.

"Ross…weak?" Steve asked with a bit of a smile.

"Most of the time, he would either speak with me only over a TV or have one of the guards talk with me. He was too scared after that one time to personally confront me anymore. Well, up until you all arrived."

"Polly, what about with Hydra?" Natasha asked. "There were a lot of Hydra's secrets spill out onto the internet so we probably know about a lot of them already but there's a chance you might know of a few we missed."

"The internet? That's still around?"

There was a small snicker amongst the group while looking over at Steve. That reminded him so much of their first meeting. Had Polly been gone for so long that back when she used to have access to it, the internet might have been in its toddler stage…maybe likely dial-up access?

"It's the number one pastime of most people," Scott informed her, and only partially joking.

"I'm pretty sure the internet has _majorly_ developed since you last used it," Sam told her. "I'll show you a bit about it later."

"Alright," she gave a weak smile at him. Turning the group, "Those two projects were the ones that Pierce were most concerned with. Before that, they had been questioning a lot of agents' loyalties. They were either returning from an assignment and questioned to see if they had been compromised or see if they would be swayed with an outgoing assignment for some reason."

"Nice to know they trusted their people," Bucky snidely commented.

Sam knew that for him and Polly, their interactions with Hydra were the most difficult.

"They never brought you to me for questioning," Polly then stated looking at Bucky. "Why not? Were you that loyal?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Bucky firmly told her and Sam could tell that Polly stiffened at not understanding where the comment was coming from.

"Polly, it's fine," Sam told her taking her hand into his from the arm of her chair.

Steve's voice was tight as he explained, "Hydra used a different form of insuring Bucky's loyalty. They erased his memories so that he didn't even know who he was. Bucky was, or still is, Project Winter Soldier."

Polly seemed to be thinking about this new piece of information before she spoke again. He saw her looking over the remaining area of his metal arm.

"That's why they wanted to know if the medical people they brought in had any problem with human experimentation or torture."

There was another rumble through the room with her saying that.

"Yes," Steve simply said while looking over at a very uncomfortable Bucky. Anyone that Hydra thought might help him or not go through with putting him through the Chair…

"Polly, what happened to those people?" Sam decided to ask.

"That depended on how useful they were. One of the guys Hydra needed, and I had to commanded him to obey his superior. There were other times over the years that I was to ask what they cherished most so it could be used against them. That was usually a family member, but there were a few that didn't have a close enough person to care about and simply wanted money or fame."

Right then, two females came out to the patio and stood near T'Challa. One was dressed casual like the other villa servants, but the other was obviously one of the Dora Milaje. Her red outfit looked like the others but the metal decorations were silver like most of them were. Only Okoye had gold ornamentation, indicating her status as their leader.

"Your Highness, it is almost time for your meeting," Okoye then informed him.

"Thank you, Okoye" T"Challa told her before turning to the group. "I have to go now, and will find out what I can from Tony about any information Ross obtained during the breakout and your possible location. But, in the meantime, this villa is yours to use. Ask any of the servants if you require something not thought of. A chef has also been assigned so that you will not have to worry about preparing your own meals. I will meet you for breakfast in the morning."

"Dinner is served," the servant then told the rest of the group.

T'Challa was about to walk into the den when he stopped and looked back over at Polly.

"Polly, I would like to request that you stop back in at medical and get their approval before trying to eat. I would hate for you to become sick when it could have been prevented."

Polly's expression was of curiosity but she began to nod her head that she would. She was not used to someone worrying about her. T'Challa gave a single nod in understanding and left them for the evening.


	7. Dinner and Downtime

As the others began to rise and slowly wander in towards the dining area, she remembered the liquid she drank earlier. Thanks to how she freaked out on them, they didn't tell her exactly how long it would take until she could eat real food, and watching as the platters of food were being brought out, she _really_ wanted to have some. After her punishment weeks, those first few meals at the Raft base would give her stomach cramps, twisting it up to the point where not eating was preferable. But if what they had said in medical was true, then that shouldn't happen this time and she wanted to make sure of it.

Not feeling too comfortable about heading back to that place alone, her stomach gave her its opinion with a growl so she decided to take Sam up on his earlier offer.

"Would you still come back with me to the medical room? I think I can handle being around them again. They gave me something earlier for my stomach and I want to see if they think I could handle eating real food so soon."

"Of course I will. Have you had problems before, after they took out the feeding tube?" he asked, to which she nodded.

"The first day or two would be the worst, mostly stomach cramps," she explained.

"Does that have something to do with why you would hide food sometimes?" Sam asked her, surprising her that he knew about that.

"Yes," decided to admit. "The first few days I would keep stuff to eat when my stomach felt better. Then, when it got close to the time for another punishment week, I would hide stuff and eat it right before. The liquid meals always made me feel hungry, so my snacks helped to stave that off the first day or so."

"It's clever that you figured that out. Come on then," Sam told her as he stood up and offered her his hand to help her up, which she took still a bit surprised that he was so willing to touch her skin. As she stood, he joked, "If we wait too long, that group in there will only leave us with a bunch of crumbs. Always make sure you fix your plate before Steve if you can."

Every so often when he had offered his hand as they talked, she'd accepted. If he really had been scared of her, she didn't think that he would, especially now that she was 'free'. When not in the headgear, guards would use the shock collar if she got within arm's length of them. And she didn't want to think about the times she had been touched with them on.

They walked back towards the door she's escaped through earlier. Over his shoulder, he informed Steve, who was talking with Bucky and Clint close to the den's door, "We're heading down to medical. We'll join you in a while," receiving a nod in response.

Sam moved to hold the door open for her, the act pleasing her since she didn't have to use her sore hands to do it.

Stepping inside he asked, "Polly, why did you decide to run earlier?"

She was still a bit suspicious but she'd told herself to give them some benefit of doubt so she didn't have any real reason to not tell him.

"When I first got to the top of the stairs earlier, I'd noticed that the lighting here was not like the other bases," she gestured to the frosted glass panels surrounding them. "But when I realized that the changing of the brightness was due to the sun, I decided to take the chance to try and get free."

"So why did you stop?" he asked as they began to head down the stairs.

"After getting through the door I figured would be locked, I did'na expected what was on the other side of it. I'd expected ta' find metal fences, maybe even concrete walls ta' keep me in. Finding myself in that garden...to say it was a shock would be an understatement. I thought the roaring sound was machinery, plane engines, not waterfalls. Besides, it'd been so long since I'd seen the sky."

"Keeling never let you even see the sky?" Sam's voice was laced with sadness for her.

"No, it was another rule of his. And when I was found secured in the truck, they were not sure if I was dangerous. So they did'na remove my headgear until after I was already at the Raft."

They walked quietly through the halls, seeing others either coming or going and nodding in acknowledgement. Dinner was upstairs waiting and she hoped that they told her some good news. She would love to eat _anything_ solid.

Kilani was still on shift when they arrived but now they both noticed that she was a bit more hesitant around her. The other staff that he didn't recognize seemed to be acting the same so either they remembered her or had already been told the story of what happened earlier. She had a feeling that she was going to get that treatment for a while until the villa staff understood that she was not really a threat to them.

Sam explained why they had returned and Kilani said that they could easily find out if she could now eat. They led her back over to the same scanning machine, and it was just as simple and quick as before.

"Polly, can I get a copy of the medical records they've made? They might be useful to bring with us when we leave," Sam asked her, as the results were being looked at.

Not seeing any reason to deny the request, she agreed.

It only took about three minutes but they were told that the new scan they did showed her body to be working properly again. She learned that the drink they had given her earlier had healed her insides since she had been in here. They only suggested that she eat slowly to make sure that she did not overload her stomach and to avoid spicy foods to be on the safe side.

Walking down the hallway back and up towards the common room, which had a dining area on the far side, Sam asked, "So what are you hoping for as your first real meal in a while?"

"Anything!" she eagerly told him. "I'll take anything offered right now."

Sam had a smile at her response, stating, "Then let's go see what's for dinner."

* * *

Arriving back at the dining room, Sam saw that the others were already around the table eating without having waited on them. There had been no telling how long they would be gone so it made sense they wouldn't wait. There was a long buffet table along one wall with a lot of steaming bowls and platters with food for them to choose from. Some were dishes that he easily recognized, but there were a few that he figured were local.

Polly walked slowly down the length of the buffet studying the variety of dishes. He liked the smile that appeared on her face as she inhaled the scents wafting up from the dishes. It saddened him a little that such a simple moment that he and the others had taken for granted meant so much to her. Everything that she was about to experience over the next few days would almost be like the first time all over again.

Sam picked up a plate and offered it to her as she made her way back towards him. He noticed again that she seemed to have trouble holding onto the plate firmly but she did manage after adjusting her grip. After being in the ball cuffs for so long, her hands were probably sore from not being used. He figured it would take a day or so until she was able to properly use them again.

"See anything you like?" he asked scooping up what looked to be mashed sweet potatoes.

"I'm not sure. There's a few things that look almost right, but I'm guessing they're not made just like back home."

"Home?" Clint took the offering to see what they could learn. "Ireland, if we are judging your accent right."

Polly seemed a bit annoyed but she had to know that her words were sometimes laced with a familiar tone.

"Yes," she then actually agreed.

"So what does looks familiar?" Clint then asked, trying to keep her engaging with them.

"The blaas looks fresh baked, there's a strange colored boxty, and the warming stew smells good too," she told them…and not a single one of them understood what she meant.

"What the hell is blaas, besides Sam's personality?" Bucky then asked, receiving a punch in the right arm for the taunt from Steve who was sitting next to him.

Polly walked over and awkwardly held up one of the three types of rolls offered.

"Blaas…I think," she took a small hesitant bite. After a few seconds, "Nope, not exactly right."

"But is it still good?" Sam asked her moving to continuing filling up his plate.

"Yes, but right now anything would probably be the best thing ever."

"So then what's the boxy?" Scott asked.

"Boxty," Polly said clumsily using the tongs to pick up a flat fried item. "It's potatoes made into flat cakes, but I don't know why it's an orange color."

"The chef mentioned that those were made from a local wild potato that grows here," Natasha explained as the two of them continued to gather up a few items. He saw that she chose two of the rolls.

Turning to the large table, Sam took the free chair next to Nat and moments later Polly sat down next to him at the end of the row. There was another free chair next to Scott but it seemed that she was becoming comfortable with being around him at least.

The group chatted for a while as he watched over how Polly ate to make sure the nurse had been correct. Polly was taking small bites, chewing it very well, and then giving a few moments before eating more or moving to another item. Not once did he notice any sign of discomfort from Polly when it came to eating the food. But it seemed that her weak hands made her struggle to hold utensils while her drink glass still required the use of both.

However, as they all chatted while eating, any time that one of the group tried to ask a question she felt was too personal, Polly was hesitant to answer. Even though she had admitted that she was from Ireland, she refused to give any family member's name or location close to where she had lived. She was still trying to protect them.

"Polly," Bucky said to get her attention, "Would you tell us how Hydra found out about you?"

Sam watched as she seemed to consider this request while picking at her roll.

"I guess that wouldn't hurt," she offered. "It started while we were having our Leaving Certificate examination at school. There was a boy sitting in front of me using a cheat sheet. I don't know where he got the answer key from. But when he saw the professor making his rounds, he tried to hide it. While trying to shove it into his back pocket, it fell to the floor at my feet. The professor saw it land and picked it up. He thought that it was mine. I told him it wasn't and even said that it was the boys, who of course denied it."

"What happened then?" Scott asked.

"He took the both of us to the principal for him to question us. When he kept denying that it was his, I got so angry that I grabbed his bare arm. I demanded that he tell the truth of where it came from, which of course he did. He admitted that the cheat sheet was his and who he had gotten it from."

"So the professor and principal saw you use your abilities?" Natasha then asked as he noticed Polly do a strange movement with her hands.

It took Sam a moment to realize that the second roll which had been on her plate was now gone, most likely hidden away in a pocket if he'd understood her hand's motion correctly. She was worried about not having access to food later on and was hiding it. Was she still worried that they would try to lock her away or deny her food?

Sam wasn't about to call her out for what she had done in front of the others and hoped that after some time she didn't feel that doing so was a might have to have a talk with her later on to try and reassure her again that she had nothing to fear from them.

"Yes, but I don't think they really understood right then. Then after confessing, the boy once again began to deny saying that I _made_ him admit to it," Polly admitted. "But days later while picking up my test results, I was called into the principal's office. He talked with me for a few moments about what had happened, telling me that I was in no type of trouble. He wanted to know if I had actually been able to make the boy tell the truth. I simply nodded. He then asked if anyone else knew. I'd never told my parents, worried about what they might think. He said that he would also keep it a secret and then let me leave. I thought that was the end of it."

"You didn't think to deny your abilities? That could have been very dangerous," Wanda told her.

"It was," Polly then said. "A few days later while I was driving home late one night, there was a police road block out on the bog. The officer walked right up to my car and used a stun gun to knock me out. When I woke up, I was in a warehouse handcuffed to a chair surrounded by a couple of guys in all black. Then my principal and another man came in. It turned out that my principal worked for Hydra. They had been bribing him, and others who worked at different schools, to be on the lookout for individuals that Hydra could use or train to work for them."

"That's how they got some of their recruits?" Steve commented shaking his head. "They were going after kids who didn't know any better."

"They _are_ the _easiest_ targets to _manipulate_ ," Clint pointed out.

"What happened after that?" Sam asked while guessing a large part of the answer.

"Hydra took me to some base a few hours away. They did initial testing to make sure that my principal had not been lying. I tried to fight them…" Polly's voice faded off but Sam noticed that she was rubbing a long scar on her forearm.

"Is that when they started hurting you to get you to comply?"

Polly hesitated before answering, "Some, but they also threatened to bring in…," she stopped speaking and looked around the group.

"A family member," Bucky finished for her.

Polly nodded.

"They threatened your family until that didn't work anymore, but they never did, and then they moved on to physical torture," Bucky then supplied.

"Yes," she responded. "Was it the same for you?"

Bucky shook his head while glancing at Steve.

"No, they went straight for the torture with me, but I know their tactics."

The entire table got quiet after that while everyone finished up their meals. Sam knew that by telling them her story that Polly had opened up a lot of bad memories for almost everyone sitting nearby, even if she didn't know it. Later on, he would see about having other members of the group talk with her one-on-one to get to know her and open up with their own experiences. That would go a long way with getting her to trust them.

After everyone was finished and the question of what to do for the few hours before bedtime was broached, Bucky finally got Steve's attention saying that they needed to have a private talk. The two of them headed towards the waterfalls, leaving everyone else a bit curious also. Maybe since it was just the two of them, without the others to hear, that maybe it didn't involve Polly. The two of them did have a lot to catch up on now that they had the time to do so.

With a loud clap of his hands, Scott's cheerful voice broke the long silence, "So, I found the media room earlier. Who's up for a movie?"

* * *

Her eyes were glued to the large viewing screen that the movie was playing on. It seemed that the king had not spared any expense when it came to entertainment around his place. The group was sitting in a large theater like she had been to in the town so many years ago. But there, the screen was much smaller and the quality of movies were not very good. She had much preferred watching bands play or just hanging out with her friends, trying to keep them in line.

She quickly made her way to the back row so that nobody would be able to get behind her, and Sam had taken up the spot next to her. Bucky and Steve also sat on their row, with the others below them. Bucky had nodded to her in a strange approval of the seat choice. She guessed he didn't like someone being able to sneak up on him either.

After a ten minute argument as to which movie to watch, it was decided that because it had been so long since she had seen any movie that they needed to go big...so the movie _Avatar_ was chosen for viewing tonight. They were then handed glasses to wear since she was told it would be in 3-D. Given the previous horrible effects from different old movies, she didn't give this one much hope.

But what was in front of her…this was amazing.

During parts of the movie, she found herself actually reaching out to try and touch something from the screen that looked to be just in front of her face. Every so often when she did, there was a slight chuckle from Sam who was sitting next to her. That was what always made her put her hand back down. By the end of the very long and brilliant movie, she wanted to watch something else. This was the best experience she'd had in so long.

When the credit began to roll on the screen, the others stood up and started chatting about the movie, slowly making their way out of the room. Sam also stood and was moving to join them but she saw him turn back and look at her. There had been parts of the movie that had made her start to cry from the emotion of the story, but now the tears that she was trying to hide were different. She kept the 3-D glasses on to hide her eyes as Sam looked at her.

"Polly, are you alright?"

Sam was moving back over toward the large leather reclining chair that they all had enjoyed sitting in. Nodding her head, she reached up and began to wipe away the tears that were making their way down her cheeks. Sam sat back down next to her.

"I'm fine," she told him and she could hear her voice wavering. "It's just been a long time since…"

Sam gave her a funny smile and seemed to know exactly what she was trying to say.

"Maybe we should have started with a movie that sucked."

She gave a bit of a laugh before stating, "It's been so long since I've seen anything, I'd probably hav' loved the worst movie ya could think of."

Sam chuckled at her jest.

"Then I'll have to make sure that you only watch the _good stuff_ for a while. That way you'll know a _horrible movie_ when you see it. Did you used to watch a lot of movies before?"

She heard in his voice that Sam was trying to be friendly without reminding her of what she had gone through. It was a strange feeling to have someone seem to care about her. Even earlier when T'Challa asked that she go back to medical, she was surprised that he had even pointed out that he didn't want her to get sick.

"Not really. My town had an old, small screen. Nothing like this. I used to hang out with friends at my uncle's pub where folk bands would play on the weekends. If there wasn't anything to do that night, I would stay home and read."

"Well, if you like to read, then I'm sure that we can find you a tablet and get a few books on it for you. Reading has come a long way."

"Tablet?"

"A flat hand-held electronic device that you touch the screen of to do things," he explained so that it jogged her memory.

"I've seen those," she told him. "The guards would sometimes have them in their hands. I never knew what they were for since I wasn't allowed to touch them."

"Then I'll definitely have to get you one of your own. There's a lot of games and other things that you can use them for. What type of books did you read?"

"I liked mystery books, like Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie. I always tried to guess who the murderer was. But I also read older fantasy books, with lots of magic, like Oscar Wilde," she told him remembering something. "Right after I was taken, I used to wish that I had been given the ability to use magic instead of making someone tell the truth. Then I could have gotten out of there."

"Then I think that you and Wanda will definitely get along," he told her making her a bit curious.

"Wanda? What does she have to do with magic?"

Sam gave her a knowing smile and said, "Ask her to show you one of her tricks. I have a feeling that you'll be amazed."

"Alright," she said now curious as to what Wanda could do.

"Why did you decide earlier today to sit next to Wanda?" he asked.

"She reminded me of some of my friends, because of how young she looked. And being a girl, I figured she might not hurt me as bad," she told him.

"Well she definitely won't hurt you but Wanda is the most powerful one in our group in her own way," he explained now really making her curious.

They both stood up, being the last to leave the theater room. At the door was a table for the special glasses to be put on.

Walking through the dark halls she knew that it was very late. Even though the movie had been long, it was worth it. Others were saying their good-nights to one another before retiring into their bedrooms.

"I'll see you in the morning for breakfast," Sam told her, stopping as they passed by his door first. She saw him focusing on her face for a bit longer than normal, almost making her a bit self-conscious. Was he quietly guarding her? But then Sam gave her a smile and went inside of his room, leaving her alone to do whatever she wanted.

She walked over to her room, which she realized was right next to Sam's room. Turning on the lights to full brightness to get rid of the dark, she headed for the door to the outside patio. She gave a sigh of relief as it opened, worried that she would be locked in. But it seemed they trusted her at least this much.

There was a cool breeze blowing in the night and the sounds from the nearby jungle were so much different than what she was used to hearing back home. Out on the bog, there were a lot of insects and the occasional howl of a dog.

Stepping from the porch area, she walked over to where the expanse of grass started. Looking around to make sure she was alone, her sandals were quickly removed and tossed back towards her room. There were light fixtures along the pathways as well as illumination from a partial moon. Even though it was dark, it wasn't the right type of dark to frighten her.

For the next few minutes she walked around the barely lit garden feeling the grass under her bare feet, touching the exotic flowers, and running her hands over the sculptures that were spread around the large area. The fragrant scent from the flowers was like nothing she'd ever experienced before. The peat bogs back home did flowers...but not like this. Here, the air was light and gentle, not heavy and thick.

This place was almost magical.

If only she hadn't had to deal the horrible hand she'd been dealt in life to get here.

Even with all the doubts that didn't seem as heavy anymore, she decided that maybe she hadn't made a mistake in leaving the Raft…

* * *


	8. Nightmares and Breakfast

**Wakanda - Waterfalls Near Villa**  
**Very Late At Night**

After sitting through numerous meetings, T'Challa was finally returning to the villa by taking the long route through the jungle while needing to get outside for a bit after sitting inside for the past few hours. There was a lot to do between his father's funeral and secretly approving the setting up of the facility necessary for Sergeant Barnes' request.

He'd spoken with him earlier today not long after Steve and Natasha had left for their escape mission about going into cryo-freeze again after learning that they had the technology. His only stipulation had been that Barnes be the one to personally tell Steve that he wanted to do so. They had only been reunited and he knew that Steve was not going to take the news very well. Barnes had assured him that he would tell him after dinner if everything went as planned today, which it had.

Most of the night creatures were down at ground level, leaving him the trees as a free pathway. Springing from tree to tree, he quietly made his way through the forest until he reached the villa's gardens. It was very late at night and he figured that all of his new guest should have been asleep for a few hours by now.

Reaching the edge of the jungle, just before he leapt to the roof's edge, from the corner of his eye he noticed a shadowy figure near one of the small natural waterfalls that had been included in a secluded garden area behind the villa. Deciding to make sure that there was nothing to worry about, he silently made his way through the tree's canopy without the figure being any the wiser.

Crouching down on a high limb, T'Challa watched the lone figure as they glided their feet through the pool of water while lying on their back, face up to the stars. Activating the sensors in his mask, the image of the person cleared so that he was able to make out that the lone individual was Polly. He could also now tell that there was a springhare on the ground next to her allowing her to stroke its small furry body. The gardeners had such trouble keeping the small rodent creatures out that he finally relented to having them fed and cared for as pets, so now they were used to human interaction...especially when food was involved.

T'Challa watched her for a few moments to make sure that everything was fine, remembering how she had reacted earlier to being outside, and it seemed that she just wanted some quiet alone time. He could not imagine what she had gone through, over a decade of not seeing even a sliver of sky. Even only knowing what he was sure was only a small portion of her story, he worried about how she was going to fare over the next few weeks to months. If Sam was correct with his initial assessment, she was going to need whomever was with her to have a lot of patience as she acclimated back into society.

" _Any reason you are making me wait for you instead of being able to finally go to sleep_?" Shuri's voice sounded through the speakers in his helmet.

"Do you _actually_ think I believe you would not be in your lab even if I wasn't late?" he replied to her as he turned away from his guest, sure that she was safe on the grounds. If she intended to leave, she would have done so long ago. He would guess that she'd been alone out here for a couple of hours already.

" _Well the joke is on you because I'm **not** in my lab, but you __**are**_ _making me wait_ ," Shuri taunted him as he quickly began to move back across the villa on the roof. " _What were you checking on_?"

"Just one of my guests taking a late night stroll in the gardens. I was making sure that she was fine," he told her leaping up the side of the villa towards the private wing for the royal family. The others were not far away in the guest wing.

" _One of the colonizers that you let into our country_?" she asked but he could hear the playfulness in her voice.

If she hadn't been so occupied in her lab when he had contacted her with his request to join him for the meeting earlier, she would have been introduced to the rest of the group this afternoon. So far, Steve, Natasha, and Bucky were the only ones she had properly met. After learning about the situation with Bucky's mental faculties thanks to Hydra's manipulation, she had instantly begun to work on a couple of possible solutions, quickly lost to the puzzling task laid before her. Knowing that she was so focused on helping him, there was no way he could be angry at her being distracted.

"Yes, but they will only be strangers for as long as you hide in your lab," he told her landing outside of the upper suite's door.

Removing his helmet, he stepped inside of the large living room which was shared by the family. There were only a few dim lights still on around the edges of the room, just enough to allow people to walk around without tripping over the furniture.

"I am _not_ hiding," Shuri voice sounded from somewhere nearby along with the clicking of a keyboard. "I was just a little _busy_."

"You need friends. All you have are schematics, devices, test, and data," he jokingly told her as he came up next to where she typing away at a laptop while lying on a couch off near a far window.

On the screen, not only were there scans of Bucky's neurological pathways, he could see that Shuri had pulled up one of the security camera over the private garden and was now watching Polly who was still at the waterfall. It did not seem as if she had moved at all in the past few minutes.

"Why is she out there at this time of night?" Shuri asked zooming in on the small springhare which was still next to her. "I do not recognize her from the news as one of the Avengers. Who is she?"

Watching for a bit longer, he was able to see that she was ripping pieces of a roll, probably one that had been served at dinnertime. Considering what he had learned about her, T'Challa realized that for her to have ready-access to food was new. He would make sure to tell the cooks that while the group is still here to always have fruits and snacks easily available in the dining area so that anyone could just grab something if they wanted it. Knowing that she was going to be cautious around anyone, he didn't want her to be afraid to request food if she was hungry.

"The only name we know her by is Polly, but it is not her real one. Up until today, she has been held as a prisoner for the past thirteen years. One of the cruel things they did was not allow her to see the outside during that entire time," he explained to her stepping over to remove his suit.

Shuri looked over at him as if to see if he were lying. The serious expression he gave her confirmed his tale.

"She does not look to be very old," she told him as he saw on the screen that Polly finally stood up. Wondering if she would head into the jungle, taking advantage of the late hour to leave the compound, he continued to watch the screen.

"Hydra took her when she was only eighteen," he answered his sister's comment.

Coming back to stand next to Shuri, together they watched as Polly outstretched her arm and managed to touch every single plant on the path back to her room's porch. She picked up her shoes from the ground and then headed inside, hopefully to get some sleep. The glass wall of her room then frosted over but they could tell the lights did not turn off immediately.

"Why did they want her?" Shuri asked closing down the screen.

"She is an enhanced. Polly can make someone tell the truth as well as make them do her bidding," he explained and the look on Shuri's face told him that she didn't like to hear that.

"Then maybe you need to stay away from her," her voice was instantly defensive.

"Why do you say that?" he asked curious to her worries.

"She could command you to do anything that she wanted, give away our secrets, even force you to give up our vibranium."

"Polly knows nothing of vibranium, that I know of, and I do not believe her to be a person who would do such things. Right now, all that she possesses is the borrowed clothes on her back, which she was happy to receive," he told her stretching out his sore muscles. He was ready to head to bed himself. Tomorrow would be just as busy as today, but at least there should be no more emergencies to deal with, like in medical earlier. "Steve and his friends will be watching over her until they leave here, trying to earn her trust. She was taken from one prison and put into another without anyone trying to help her. Polly has not had anyone to look out for her, so we need to prove that we are better than those who held her. And she just learned today of the Accords and how because of them that she cannot go home. But right now, she is still too scared of us to even tell us where that is."

"Maybe someone needs to do something for her," Shuri's voice was low and he could see the look she usually got when trying to figure out a problem.

T'Challa was glad that she seemed to be feeling more at ease now. He knew that she had been hesitant about letting in the strangers that surrounded them. Wakanda had been secluded for maybe too long, making everyone who had not traveled outside of their borders a bit too suspicious of colonizers.

"Well, until we know more about her, there is not a lot except for giving her the freedom that she has not known for so long," he stated as he watched Shuri's fingers start to type away on the keyboard. Knowing that his sister had an idea, he finished their talk with, "Why don't you join me with the others for breakfast in the morning, _if_ you can remember to? Maybe getting out of your lab and meeting new people will do you some good. And whatever you just thought of, don't do anything illegal."

As he then began to walk away towards his bedroom while giving a large yawn, Shuri called out to him, "Even if I did, you'd never know because _I would never get caught_!"

* * *

_/…there was total darkness in her cell on the Raft..._   
_…her hands flew up to her face and found nothing there, no devices…_   
_...footsteps pounding on the metal floor gradually getting louder as they approached…_   
_...pushing up from the cot she put herself into the corner…_   
_...the door opened to a figure in dark shadow holding the rod…_   
_...trying to raise her hands they refused to lift from her sides…_   
_...he stepped inside and jabbed the collar on the rod towards her throat…_   
_...the cold metal clamped down hard around her bare neck…_   
_...now her hands raised but it was too late…_   
_...he lifted the pole, forcing her to stand, the collar choking her…_   
_...her bare back impacted hard with the cold metal wall…_   
_...her body left the ground as he lifted her high by her neck..._   
_...her arms reached out to try and touch him, to tell him to let her go, but he was too far away…_   
_...looking down, light from the hall showed that her entire body was naked…_   
_...he took a single step forward and his face touched a light beam that had not just been there…_   
_...Keeling held the other end of the pole with that nauseating smile of his…_   
_..."There's the tool that I lost. Welcome back to Hydra…"/_

Her breath hitched in her tightened throat moments before she screamed aloud. Her arms tried to flail in front of her, trying to keep Keeling away. Instead, they became tangled in the soft bed sheets, making her still feel trapped. Kicking out with her legs pulled the fabric away, finally freeing her.

Sitting upright, there was just a hint of moonlight coming in through the large, frosted window to her left. Was this real or was she back inside one of her dream worlds? It felt real...

Scrambling over the bed, she ended with her back against the headboard. Her eyes kept darting around the dark room, looking for him. Listening for footsteps in the hallway, they would tell her that he was just outside of the door waiting for her to fall asleep again. She needed light. What had she been told earlier...?

"Lights, all on!" she loudly and firmly demanded and they immediately drowned out all of the shadows where he could be lurking…waiting to get to her again. She found herself alone in the room. But that did not mean she was safe.

There was no was that she could stay here where he could get to her so easily. The others had no reason to protect her from him so there was no point in going to them. That meant that her only option was finding a secure place to sleep. There were only two options in this bedroom, a closet or the bathroom with a window, and she knew which one to head to.

Gathering all of the pillows from the bed and the blanket up into her arms, she slipped from the bed and hurried across the room to the open closet door. Tossing the items on the floor, she slammed the door closed behind her. Feeling the handle, she cursed as she found that there was no lock...but why would there be for a closet. So, she piled the pillows up against the door and laid down with her back to it. Now, anyone who wanted to get to her would have to open the door, and when they did, it would wake her up and give her time to stop them.

Magical would be how she'd describe how she fell asleep in the fluffy bed, just like she would have years ago, tucked under the covers with the lights off. The moonlight had been much brighter earlier so that it lit her room enough for her to be comfortable. But since falling asleep, the clouds had returned and dimmed it too much for her. Even with the closest being as small as her cell, as long as the lights were on, she knew she could handle being inside.

It was the darkness that she feared more than the small space.

Grasping the blanket tightly in her hands, she pulled it up over her body, stopping only when it reached her chin. The shame of being so frightened by a nightmare and the dark as if she were still a child eventually became too overpowering. After trying to hold herself together for so long, she finally gave in and let herself break down.

This was one of the best dreams she ever had created...or was she really free?

No...this time it _had_ to be real. But she was only physically free, the memories would always haunt her. Keeling would always be there waiting for her when she closed her eyes.

The tears on her face had dried by the time that she managed to fall asleep again.

* * *

**The Next Morning**

"Sam," Steve called out to him as he was headed through the den towards the dining room where some of the others were already gathered and eating breakfast. He stopped to wait for Steve who was approaching with a tablet in his hand. When Sam saw Steve glance over his shoulder to make sure they had privacy, he got worried.

"What's up?" he asked hoping that it was something good.

"T'Challa had something brought to my attention after his medical staff approached him with the information from Polly's scans, not sure what to do with it," Steve told him as his eyes cut down to the device. "You had requested a copy of Polly's medical records, and she agreed to it, but as they were compiling their findings…some _things_ caught their attention."

Sam already felt his body tighten at hearing that. Then there was the fact that Steve wanted to keep this quiet from the others for right now.

"What did they find?"

Steve glanced over his shoulder towards the hallway where Polly would be coming from for breakfast. He was making sure that she was not anywhere around. He then offered the tablet to him. Turning it on, there was a file already pulled up.

The full body scan they had taken was visible and there were numerous parts of it that were highlighted in red listed as previous injuries. Zooming in, he was able to see that both of her hands were marked as such. Tapping it to enlarge the detail showed that all of her fingers showed at least two, and some three, previous breaks that had healed. Four more circles indicating her shoulders and elbows were also marked, the bones' joints showing stress signs of having been previous dislocated…possibly numerous times according to the notes. Her arm muscles were designated as being at a state of atrophy, as if they had not been used on a regular basis for very long periods of times…more than just what Ross had done to her.

"They tortured her," his voice was solemn as he said it aloud.

"Yes," Steve simply agreed. "Those are only the things they did that didn't heal properly."

"I noticed yesterday at dinnertime that she moved her hands a bit irregularly. I thought that it had to do with them being in the cuffs for so long," he told him moving on to the next document.

Now on the screen was a listing of the numerous scars and needle track marks that he had already seen. But there were a lot more that had been covered by her clothing. It seemed that she had undergone numerous medical procedures as well, some of the notes so technical he didn't understand their meaning. There were other notes off to the side indicating what the doctors believed had been done: numerous tissue and organ sampling, and including the signs of multiple spinal taps.

"They _did_ cut her open, just like she mentioned," he said turning the device off, not wanting to see anymore right now. "This explains why she panicked so when she was down in medical."

"Knowing Hydra, they were probably trying to figure out where her power came from," Steve stated and Sam guessed he was right.

Hearing soft footsteps approaching, they saw Polly walk into the den, cautiously looking around as if making sure it was safe to do so. Now he understood why she was so paranoid about people, especially the medical staff. There was no telling what all had been done to her during those eleven years.

"We'll talk more after breakfast," Steve told him trying to put on a smile for her, but knowing him the way that he did, Sam could see that there was something more bothering him than just this report.

What other bad news had Steve received?

* * *

She sat at the breakfast table with the plate of food in front of her. The cooks had gone for more of an American style menu and the others were enjoying it immensely. She, on the other hand, was trying to be grateful but it only served as a reminder that unless something dramatically changed, she was never going to eat with her own family again.

How was she to be sure that this new group was not trying to bide their time and make her think that she couldn't go home? They could be telling her all of this information in hopes that she would stay with them so that they could use her like Ross and Hydra.

But since yesterday, they had all been very nice to her.

She had been a bit worried that the group would take simple precautions to stop her from quickly using her powers, like making her wear the dark lens glasses. But nobody seemed to consider that, and if they did, not one of them had mentioned it. Sam had even come over to tell her good morning, his eyes never once leaving hers. When he had asked how she had slept, she hated that she had lied to him, saying only 'good' as an answer. At least she had not screamed aloud and woken everyone up. That would only help to alienate them more.

Picking at the polenta they had called grits, she slowly ate in silence as the others around her chatted away with each other. She didn't think that they even noticed that she didn't join in. Steve was the only other one that seemed a bit out of it, as if something was bothering him. Was it her? Was he regretting bring her with them? She hoped not. After watching the sunrise over the waterfalls this morning, she had walked around the entire villa, learning that they were out in the middle of nowhere next to a jungle that seemed to have no other type of city nearby. If she ran from here, there was nowhere for her to hide from them.

The only stranger at the table today was the female T'Challa had introduced as his sister, Princess Shuri. She seemed friendly for the most part but Polly had learned to pick up on body language with all of the interviews and questions that she'd been forced to ask. There was no mistaking that she was uncomfortable with this group. But she had heard the other mention that visitors were not common here so maybe that had something to do with it.

Every so often, Shuri's eyes would linger for a few seconds too long, telling Polly that she was watching her specifically. The few times she'd caught her doing so Shuri had only given a polite smile. Polly knew that _if_ she _was_ uncomfortable with the group that her brother had allowed to come here, then _she,_ as an unexpected guest, was definitely _not_ wanted by the princess.

Maybe she should just talk openly with them and then have them see if it would be safe to take her home. If they were really the good guys, then her family would be safe from them. And Ross would hopefully not be a worry to her.

"I have something that I…we need to let you all know about," Steve's first words of the meal had heads turning to listen. "When we leave here tomorrow, Bucky will not be joining us."

There was a mumble from most of the group at hearing that.

Bucky then told them, "I'm going back into cryo for a while."

"What? Why?" Sam asked.

"With Zemo having my activation words, and him being questioned by NATO, there's no telling how long until they get out," Bucky said. "Using the cryo technology that T'Challa has here can keep anyone from getting into my mind again and controlling me like Hydra did."

She couldn't stop her stomach from dropping at just the thought of him volunteering to be locked away just to hide from practically everyone. Was Hydra still looking for him too? There was no guarantee that they wouldn't come here. And he would be helpless to stop them. Was what they did to him so bad that he felt it was really his only option?

"And I will be working on the way to remove their significance from his mind permanently," Shuri then told the group. "It will take some time and he should not have to live in fear of someone just walking up to him and using him like a tool again."

Hearing Shuri say the word _tool_ made her drop the spoon from her weak hand, letting it tink loudly onto her plate. A few looked thinking her just clumsy, but they had no idea of the significance of that horrible word to her thanks to Keeling's fondness of it.

The group began a discussion about the procedure and giving their support for his decision but she couldn't concentrate on their talk. Sitting there all she could do was try to mentally scream the memories away from the surface of her mind that were trying to drown her. Keeling, her cell, her arms being locked down, screaming for help that never came. The only one who seemed to pay any attention to her was Wanda for some reason.

The others were still talking but she could not concentrate on the actual words. She forced herself to try and focus on the here and now.

"I was able to find out about the rest of us going home," Natasha stated bringing the entire table's attention to her after a few minutes.

"What did you find?" Scott was the first to ask.

"For you, it turns out that Ross had already questioned Hank Pym after Germany. He informed Ross that you had stolen the suit and demanded to have it returned to him after charges were brought up against you for theft," Natasha told him, making Scott smile and drop his head.

"Yeah, he's going to be mad at me for a few days," he then looked up, "But he's probably just worried about Stark getting his hands on the suit."

"Ross' men also questioned your ex-wife and her husband. He told them that if he even suspected that you were in town that he would have you arrested for breaking parole," Natasha told him with a smile.

"Great! That means that I can go home," Scott looked way to happy at hearing that.

"Didn't you just hear what she said?" Clint asked him.

"That's just Paxton," Scott said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"What about home?" Clint then asked Natasha.

"Still off of the grid," she told him with a certainty in her voice. "Fury's procedures held up very well against Ross' attempts to trace you. All it did was redirected him to an old Shield safe house in Iowa."

Clint then looked over at Wanda, "Feel like coming to stay a bit with the family? I know the kids would love to see you again."

"You would not find my presence an intrusion? Laura is going to be very mad at you for getting arrested," Wanda told him.

"And having a guest in the house will keep her too distracted from yelling at me," he told her giving her side a nudge since they were sitting next to each other. "Besides, you know that they all consider everyone in the group family. Well, maybe not Tony right now."

"I will think about it," Wanda told him.

"And I'm not even going to bother asking you," Clint said looking across the table at Natasha. "Lila was mad that you backed out last month from coming and seeing her before all of this started. If I don't bring you with me, then I might as well not even bother going home."

"I think I can spare a few days or so to see my number one fan," Natasha then gave such a genuine smile.

Steve then looked over towards the head of the table where T'Challa was sitting.

"It seems that we have at least part of a plan to keep you from being discovered as our protectors," Steve told him.

"An unnecessary precaution but I thank you nonetheless," T'Challa informed them but then he looked down the table to where she was sitting. "Polly, have you decided yet as to if you trust us enough to tell us your name?"

She saw every set of eyes around the table now focused on her as she was put on the spot. If she was going to trust them, then this would be the time to do it. Could she trust them to not hurt her family? Some of them had their own family, so they had to be good people, right?

Instead of answering with her doubts she sat there quiet.

"Then I may have some information for you too," Natasha then said, getting their eyes drawn to her. "Teagan Aoife MacKenna."

Her breath hitched in her throat at hearing her name spoken aloud for the first time in years.

"Where did you get my name from?" she barely managed to ask aloud.

"I used your fingerprints from the inside of the cuffs that Ross had on you. I searched the normal databases for a match and came up empty. The same as all of Ross' searches," she told her. "But then knowing how Hydra worked, I ran a search through a database that I'll guess he never did."

"What one was that?" she asked a bit worried about the answer.

Natasha looked around the table before answering, "Ireland's Civil Registration Deaths Index."

Teagan looked at her trying to figure out what that would exactly mean.

"What did you find?" Bucky was the one to ask, his voice weary as if he knew what to expect her to say.

"I used the story that you told us about how Hydra took you that morning and matched it up against a set of prints entered into the database by a local coroner's office. It seems that after they removed you from the car, they had it driven off of the road and into a deep bog. It took a few days before local police were able to find and recover the car. They pulled fingerprints from the steering wheel trying to see if there was signs of foul play but only found your prints. But when they didn't find a body, the coroner's office still listed you as deceased guessing that your body had sunk deeper and would never be recovered. You were listed as the victim of a simple traffic accident."

The entire table was quiet at hearing Natasha's story, but she couldn't hear anything past the slow beating of her own heart.

For years, Teagan had always imagined that her family was out there looking for her. That somehow, someday she would get free and be able to show up at home into their waiting arms and she would be with them again.

But instead, Hydra had erased her from the world.

Her family thought her to be dead. Not only that, they have thought it for almost thirteen years! They'd had mourned for her and then moved on with their lives without her. They never continued to look for her. They never even expected her to knock on the door.

She had nothing and no one to go home to.

Her face felt flushed, her throat tight, and she barely managed to hold back the tears trying to escape and embarrass her in front of everyone. Ducking her head down, Teagan hid her face with a hand, trying to steady her breathing to remain calm.

After she had been sitting there for a bit too long, Sam gently touched her right arm, getting her attention, "Teagan?"

Rubbing her eyes, she looked up at him, and couldn't help but smile a bit a hearing her name again.

"Yeah," she responded with a soft chuckle. "I always hated the name Polly."

Clint gave a loud snort, "You and me both," guessing someone had used it as a joke due to his codename of Hawkeye.

Now that she knew who she was, it left her wondering, "So what does that mean for me? I could'na go home because of that stupid Accord thing, and now if I show up my parents would think that I'm a Thevshi or something."

"Thevshi?" Sam asked her.

"Ghost," and the moment the word left her, Teagan knew that to them it sounded superstitious. But most smiled and accepted the term.

The entirety of the table then turned to Steve, their leader and the one in charge of her, and all of theirs, futures.

"I still want our group out of here before we cause any trouble for T'Challa," he started telling all of them. "From there we will take everyone home who we can, namely Scott and Clint. Nat and Wanda can visit with Clint if they want."

"Why can they go home?" she asked not understanding.

T'Challa was the one to answer.

"There is still a danger of them being discovered of doing so. Even with the incident at the airport, the Raft was only supposed to house enhanced individuals, such as Wanda and yourself. For all purposes under the law, Clint, Scott, and Sam are only human. Their skills rely on machinery or training, nothing more. Technically, they never should have been on the Raft to begin with."

"And that is exactly what the report that was released by the U.N. officials within the past twenty-four hours stated," Natasha continued. "Ross could not cover-up their escape, not when they were still being held while it was decided _if_ charges could be brought up against them. But so that everyone here knows, there is one interesting fact that was _not_ mentioned… _your_ escape."

Teagan thought about that for a moment, "So, nobody but _Ross_ knows that I'm not there anymore?"

"That's what we believe," T'Challa told her. "Unless Ross informs someone off of the record."

"And the U.N. never knew you were there to being with," Natasha continued. "Since you were found on U.S. soil, and captured by local authorities before being passed on to another government entity, they were under no obligation to even mention your capture."

Not only had Hydra made her disappear, it seemed that Ross had managed to keep it that way.

"But if Ross expands his searches to include the same one as mine did, he will figure out who you are and could come for you if you headed home," Natasha pointed out. "But I can go back in and see about scrubbing your records from the system."

Steve nodded his head, "Do that, Nat. No matter what, we can't let Ross find Teagan again. There's no telling what he'd do in retaliation for the escape."

"I'll do it right after breakfast," Natasha told him.

"So then, what _is_ the plan for the rest of us?" Sam asked while looking at Steve.

"Natasha and Clint have a couple of safe-houses set up. For the next few months, the three of us will be laying low…if you want to come with us, Teagan."

Closing her eyes and dropping her head, "What other choice do I have?"

"There is one other," T'Challa then spoke up. "We do not normally allow outside visitors into our cities, but considering the special circumstances surrounding you, I will grant you asylum and find a place for you to reside inside our borders where Ross will not discover you."

Living alone in a foreign country? Not exactly what she had hoped for once she was freed from the base.

"If you can give me some time," Natasha started, "I can see about working on getting you home."

With a bit of hopefulness in her voice, "How?"

"You were only listed as missing before being moved to deceased without your body being found. Giving me a while to come up with a backstory and the corresponding paperwork to go with it, and I might be able to create a plausible account to bring you back to life."

"You could do _that_?" she asked not believing it.

"I've learned _quite_ a few tricks over the years. Worst case, you might have to give a couple of ' _suggestive comments_ ' to anyone who doesn't go along with us," Natasha smiled at her. "But I will need time. Think you could keep Sam and Steve out of trouble for while?"

"While I don't think that _I_ need a babysitter," Sam told her, "Staying with us would be a good option. You'll need a bit of time to acclimate back into society and we can help you with that."

Steve then amusingly asked, "So you think _I_ need a babysitter?"

"For the past ninety-nine years," Bucky then answered with a smile before turning to her, "and I would sleep better knowing that he has others with him."

It had been so long since anyone had asked her what she wanted to do that it was a bit overwhelming. But if what Natasha was offering could be done, she'd eventually be able to go home. Her dream world would become a reality.

"I…I think I'll stay with Sam and Steve," she managed to say aloud before turning to T'Challa to answer his offer. "I know them…or more than I would being left alone somewhere surrounded by strangers. But thanks for even offering it to me. I know that you consider me a security risk."

"You were a victim and need to see that not everyone is like Hydra or Ross," he told her. "But there is something else that I would like to discuss with you in private, after breakfast."

Teagan knew that her eyes were wide at hearing the request. Was this when he asked her to do something for him? Was it to be payment for allowing her to stay with the group?

"Of course," she managed to get out as the rest of the table began to talk amongst themselves.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you like the name reveal. Of course Natasha would be the one to figure out how to find it. FYI - Teagan's middle name of Aoife is pronounced "ee+fa", meaning 'joyful' as well as being the name of a warrior woman.
> 
> I'd like to hear from you as to what you'd like to read about when it comes to events/actions that Teagan might have to deal with trying to cope with normal activites. I have a couple of upcoming chapters with small scenes of coping, and I'll see about putting some of your suggestions into them.


	9. A Gracious Offer

**Wakanda - The Villa  
After Breakfast**

Sitting back outside on the patio, T'Challa saw Teagan hesitantly heading for him. He did not believe that she was actually scared of him but more wary of anyone she considered a threat to her freedom. There was no mistaking the guarded bearing she still had around him and Steve, as if a single word from either of them would have her put back into a cell. He felt that no matter how much he might try, that only time would alleviate her fear that it was not going to happen.

Seeing Steve and Sam still indoors, as well as a few other eyes from their group, watching her as she took up the seat across from him, he decided to give her an offer of some company. Okoye had taken it upon herself to be as close as he would allow, not liking the fact that he would be what she considered 'vulnerable' being so close to Teagan. He was not as worried hoping that as long as she felt safe then they all would be free from any episode from her.

"Teagan, what I would like to discuss with you, Steve and Sam already know about," he informed her. "I brought it to their attention first. Would you like either or both of them to join us?"

She looked back over at the glass doors where the two men were talking to each other inside.

"Yes, both please," she nervously told him.

Waving to the both of them, they headed out to join the talk. Once they were seated, he decided to be very blunt with her.

"Teagan, my doctors came to me after compiling your medical reports taken from your scans. There is a detailed listing of what they found concerning previous injuries and scars left from the medical procedures done to you over the years. I'm sure that you know exactly what they found."

Her eyes darted over from him to the others, as if trying to tell if they really knew and from the sadness that they saw from them it was obvious that they did.

"Yeah, it's kind of hard to forget," she told him.

"I noticed at breakfast that you have a hard time holding objects in your hands," he offered and she quickly her hands clasp onto each other before she hid them between her legs. Was she truly worried of a repeat of what Hydra had done to her? "You have nothing to be worried about. Our medical experience here in Wakanda is far more advanced than anywhere else in the world. And I would like to offer you some help."

"Help?" she asked him not understanding where he was going.

"If you will agree to the simple procedure, my medical staff can easily repair the damage done to your hands and arms so that you are once again able to use them without trouble," he told her.

"You can do that?" Steve then asked for them.

"Yes. It would mean a couple of simple injections into each of your hands," his eyes never strayed from hers, "and after the solution has a couple of hours to work repairing the bones, muscles, and tendons, it would be as if your hands had never been injured."

He could see that she was hopeful but a bit hesitant as she bit at her lower lip and T'Challa was sure he knew why.

"Teagan, we will _not_ be _experimenting_ on you. This is a medical procedure which has been around for _many years_ , at least for us, and has worked successfully on many people before you, mostly our elders with severe arthritis," he told her. "You do not have to accept this offer if it frightens you. But I know of the _pain_ that you must be constantly feeling in your hands from the damage that was done to them."

That got her attention.

"The shots would make the pain would _go away_?" there was enthusiasm in her voice and she looked the happiest she had since arriving.

He also saw a bit of shock from the others as they heard that, probably not having considered that it was a possibility. His doctors had informed him that with how much damage her hands had suffered that there was a high probability that she felt an arthritic-type of throbbing constantly.

"Yes," he simply told her. "And if you would like, they can also give your shoulders and elbows the injections too. Are they _also_ in constant pain?"

Looking a bit shy at having been found out, Teagan carefully nodded her head.

"May I ask… _why_ they felt it was necessary to do such damage to your hands?"

Teagan now really seemed to draw into herself and he feared that she would not tell that part of her story. His curiosity as to why they did such an act, except as a punishment, was beyond him and he hoped to learn more.

"It was my training," she told them.

He, Steve, and Sam all looked at each other not understanding the connection.

"Training?" Steve responded. "How is breaking bones training?"

Taking a deep breath, she told them, "I couldn't always control a person, only make them tell the truth. Hydra figured if I could _command_ someone one way then I might be able to do it another. So they would have one of their men put a finger into a vice. He would keep turning it to snap my finger, and if I wanted it to stop, I had to touch him and command him to do so."

"They used torture to try to manipulate and amplify your powers?" Steve asked, to which she nodded.

"But they had no way to _know_ if you could really command people like that, did they?" Sam asked her.

"No. They were only guessing, and hoping. But after experimenting with torture techniques, and breaking all my fingers multiple times, it worked."

There was a foul feeling from all of them as they each imagined what she had been put through. He could even hear Okoye fidgeting nearby. She had also been given a copy of Teagan's medical report so she knew why this talk was necessary, as well as his offer of their help.

"What about the overall damage to your arms?" Sam then asked. "Your shoulders and elbows show marks that they were stressed. Was that part of training too?"

Teagan began to shake her head.

"That was just from how he preferred to keep me secured," she told them, sounding much too casual about the topic. "He liked to make sure that I couldn't touch anyone so he kept my arms bound behind my back, my hands close to my neck."

T'Challa's mind began to race with a picture of the painful position her arms would have been in. Bent upwards and secured like that, it would indeed stress her joints and her muscles would begin to deteriorate from not being used. Too much pressure would have caused the dislocation of her shoulders as her file indicated. Even with his own training, he would never be able to have his arms in that position.

"He?" Sam asked her, bringing him back to the conversation.

There was no mistaking the fear in her eyes at just thinking of the individual.

"I…uh, the guy…in charge of…my project," she finally managed to say, hesitating every few words while not being able to make eye contact.

"Were there others in this project?" Steve then asked.

Teagan bit her lower lip very hard, and her entire body was now fidgeting. Why was she so nervous?

"No," she softly started off. "I _was_ the entire project."

"What project?" he asked, knowing that there was very good chance that the information about it might have been leaked onto the internet thanks to Natasha.

"Project Cherry Tree."

Steve gave a slight chuckle at the name for some reason.

"What's funny about that name?" Sam asked him.

"Didn't you pay attention in history class?" Steve taunted him. "George Washington. ' _I cannot tell a lie, I chopped down the cherry tree_.'"

Sam groaned at the recognition, then he stated, "I had no idea that Hydra was into bad puns."

T'Challa knew with that piece of information that if Teagan's project file was on the internet that it could be easily found.

"Teagan, did Ross know that name? Project Cherry Tree?" he asked.

"No, I never told him, and I don't think that the guards captured with me knew that name. They only had instruction on where to deliver me but I don't think they ever told Ross where that was. He asked about it for a long time which made him madder that I never gave him an answer."

"So there's a chance that there is a Hydra base that you know of that might not have been captured after their fall?" Steve asked.

"I don't know," she told him, "but I don't know where _any_ of the bases are that I went to. It was a rule."

"You've mentioned these rules before," Sam got her attention and she began to fidget again. "Would you tell us some of them?"

As she spoke, Teagan's voice sounded as if she were reading off a grocery list, very plain and unemotional.

"Nobody was supposed to talk to me except for giving orders. And _never_ use the word friend. I was to always be restrained in two ways, if not three, so that I couldn't escape. No letting me know where I was or where I was going. Never tell me what day, month, or year it was. Never let me see outside, the sky."

T'Challa could not imagine why it would be necessary to impose such strict rules on her except to help break her spirit.

"Who made these rules?" Steve then asked.

"The project head," she simply said.

"Who was?" Steve asked trying to get an actual name from her.

Teagan seemed very disturbed by this part of their talk. Her expression was a mixture of fright and anger as she considered speaking his name.

"Marcus Keeling."

Steve and Sam looked over at each other with no recognition of the man at all it seemed. There was no mistaking the hated tone as she spoke his name.

"Well, we are going to see if he was one of the Hydra agents captured after their fall. That way you'll know that you're now safe from him," Steve informed her and he could see a bit of a smile at hearing that.

"Teagan," he said getting her attention back to him, "Would you be willing to accept my offer of the injections? We can have them done in only a matter of minutes and by this afternoon, you would be feeling much better."

There was no mistaking the nervousness on her face as she considered his offer. Her hands were wringing each other and she was still biting her lower lip. She then timidly looked over towards Sam.

"Would…would ya' come with me?" she asked him.

"Of course," Sam offered with a warm smile.

He was glad to see that she was at least trusting of one person so far.

Turning back to him, "Yes. I would really like for the pain to stop."

"Then I will have medical informed to get the necessary shots ready. Is there any other problems that you are having that we did not discover?"

"No, it's just my hands and shoulders. They needed to be able to move me easily so they never hurt my legs."

That was much harder to actually hear even though he had suspected it.

"Then someone will come and retrieve you and Sam when they are ready," he said standing. "I have some things to take care of today but I will be back later and join everyone for dinner tonight."

As he began to walk away, Steve made his way over to him and he could tell that he wanted to say something.

"T'Challa, thank you so much for doing that for her. I had no idea that her injuries would be hurting her like that, only that her grip would be weakened."

"The doctors had to inform me of such. They said that with as many breaks as her fingers had suffered that it was almost a guarantee that she was in some kind of pain. Seeing her at breakfast only helped me to confirmed their suspicions."

Steve glanced towards the den, seeing Barnes and the others talking and laughing on the couch.

"He will be fine," he tried to voice comfort to Steve.

"It just feels like I'm losing him all over again after just finding him."

"But when he awakes, the friend you knew will still be there but without some of the harm done to his mind by Hydra," he pointed out and Steve's shoulders eased a bit of tension. "Are you still planning on leaving tomorrow?"

"Yes. We need to leave before anyone becomes suspicious since the last place we were seen in was a location you were at. Nat and Clint told me they are working on putting out a couple of false reports in different countries to help confuse the authorities."

"Then take the day to spend with your friend and we will wait until tomorrow morning for him to go to sleep," T'Challa offered.

"I can't tell you how much your help means to the both of us," Steve said before turning back to look at Teagan. "Actually, all three of us."

"Well, I hope that all of you find a resolution to the problems that you will soon be facing, as well as healing the ones behind you."

Steve understood his meaning as he began to shake his head, "I don't think that right now there is anything to help with the rift between me and Tony."

"It cannot hurt to at least extend an olive branch."

* * *

**Unknown Hydra Base**   
**A Little While Later  
**

Walking towards the security center for the Hydra base, Marcus Keeling listened to the tapping of his walking cane echoing off the concrete walls. Over the past two years, the muscles around the burn and shrapnel wound in his right thigh and hip had begun to weaken, causing him not only pain but to have a more pronounced limp. He hated that it had forced him to need the support of the cane to ease the pressure of just moving around, worried that others would take it as a sign of weakness. He would.

Holding onto the handle, his fingers stroked alone the tentacles of the custom made titanium hydra pommel. If he had to use it, he wanted no doubts as to his faithfulness. Especially considering his now lowered status among the remaining ranks.

After the loss of his prized possession, Project Cherry Tree was no more. Which meant that he was now just another middle ranked Hydra agent thanks to his previous years of service as a strike team leader. His bitterness and lashing out at first learning that his tool had been taken by mere police then turned over to the U.S. government had caused quite a scene. But thanks to the fall of Hydra only hours later, he had not been able to convince his home base's Commander Henry Bradshaw to compile a strike team to retrieve her. With so many of their ranks exposed and being taken out, he was not taking the chance of anyone learning of this location.

And so they waited for an attack that never came.

After two full months of the base being on lock-down for protection, he'd finally learned that Teagan had been quietly whisked away to the Raft prison. It was only luck that he knew where she was to begin with, thanks to a single agent still in Secretary Ross' circle that had not been exposed. There was no way for him to get her out of there. According to the prison records, she was not _actually_ there…no _official_ prisoners were.

But he knew for a fact that she was thanks to their agent. And why else would the Raft's medical staff put in constant requests for feeding tubes and liquid protein meals just like he had fed her? It seemed that blowhard Thaddeus Ross had taken his technique of keeping her a prisoner as his own. Had she been as much trouble for Ross as she'd been for him at times over the years?

Reaching his destination, Marcus entered his door code, allowing him access to the security room. The tech agent which compiled the secretly passed-on reports that covered events to be reviewed by the U.N. special councils was at his deadline. Thanks to the leak from Shield about most of Hydra's activities, Henry Bradshaw had demanded that all of the base computers be on a closed server and internal reports to be discussed in weekly meetings to be printed on paper. The numerous techs could use computers to gather the information but he was not risking them being hacked and anything they were currently working on getting out. Henry had also banned laptops from being brought into the meeting room.  


He was gathering the reports before today's meeting with Henry and a few other higher ranked agents who had managed to flee here over the years.

"Sir," the agent straightened up in his chair and nodded his head in acknowledgement. He liked that he managed to instill a bit of fear of the lower ranks. Offering up a small stack of papers to him, "Here are the copies of the report. It also includes all that we could gather about the escape of the Raft initiated by Captain America and Black Widow. It seems that they were able to get their entire team out without a single fatality, guard or prisoner beyond minor injuries."

Opening the report, he gave a quick read over the summary at the top of the page. It seemed that even as a fugitive that Rogers was not will to take that final step to do whatever was necessary. Numerous black eyes, sprained limbs, contusions...but not a single gun wound or death.

"Do you have my weekly supply request from the Raft compiled?" he asked dully while skimming over the rest of the report.

For roughly two years, it had been the same until the arrival of the former Avengers. Then new staples for the prisoners' meals began to appear.

Turning around, the agent began to scramble through the remaining papers, finally pulling out a single sheet. Taking it from him, Keeling started to walk away as he glanced at it. His steps began to slow as his mind began to realize what the paper stated this time.

Where were the normal requests for feeding tubes and liquid meals? Had Ross for some reason decided to put Teagan into a _normal_ cell and feed her the standard prisoner meals?

Reading every line item requested since the breakout, Keeling began to smile. There was only one reason that there were no medical items to be used on her and for _all_ prisoner meal supplies had been zeroed out: Teagan was no longer on the Raft!

Ross had not put her into a cell. If he had, he would still need to feed her, but now the Raft no longer had _any_ prisoner!

Going back over the other report in his hand about the breakout, Keeling saw that there was no mention of Teagan being among the escapees. But why should she be? Ross had never informed the U.N. to her existence.

He sauntered out of the security room much happier than when he'd entered as his mind began to race.

This had to mean that Teagan was now _with_ Captain America.

But _where_ would he keep her prisoner at?

He could no longer take her to either the Avengers upstate compound or the Tower. He was on the run…with the Black Widow. _She_ was the type that might have a confidential location that could hold a prisoner. But he doubted that they would ever be able to learn of it considering how well she was trained.

So what did that leave as an alternative?

Heading into the meeting with Henry Bradshaw, he couldn't wait to see his face as he informed him of his findings and requested that they begin their own search for Captain America. Keeling hoped they had better luck finding him than Ross so far had.

It would be so nice to have Teagan…no, to have his _tool_ back again.

* * *

  
Thanks for the positive reviews, and I hope that I'm able to keep you happy. For the immediate future, I should be able to continue posting on Mondays and Fridays.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That ending should give you some indication as to where this story is going to head eventually...and it will be a shocker that should have you screaming. But that's a bit off in the future. For now, you'll have a chance to see Sam and Teagan get to know each other better, as well as some of the others.


	10. A Casual Talk and Showing Off

**Wakanda - Villa  
After Leaving Medical**

"How are you doing?" Sam asked her as they walked back up the staircase to the main living floor.

They had just left the medical room after she had received the four shots from Kilani. They had not been painful, or at least as painful as some of the others she had received through the years. According to the doctor, she would feel a bit of tingling in her limbs for the next few hours as the vibranium-infused serum began to bond with her weakened bones and muscles to help strengthen and heal them. She didn't care what it was as long as the pain stopped.

"At least I didn't freak out on them like I did yesterday," she tried to joke with him.

"I'm sure they appreciated it," he told her as they reached the top.

"So what is exactly going to happen?" she asked walking into the den and finding it empty.

"With what?" Sam asked her.

"Tomorrow," she replied.

They both took seats on one of the large couches overlooking the luscious patio and waterfall area.

"We'll be taking the Quinjet, in stealth mode, out of Wakanda and back to America. Most of the group will be heading to Clint's place, our first drop off. Then we'll take Scott back home to San Francisco. After that, we will head off to one of Nat's safe houses for a stay."

"How long of a stay?"

"Depends on what happens," he told her. "On the short side, it could be a few weeks, but if we're lucky, and thanks to Nat we should be, we're hoping be able to stay there for quite a few months."

"And what about me?" she came right out and asked.

"You're going to get the charming companionship of the most handsome ex-Avenger for a while," he joked with her.

Not being able to resist, with a smile and a sigh, she responded, "Steve _is_ nice to look at."

"That hurts," Sam put his hand over his heart as if wounded.

She couldn't help but give a laugh at the funny simple flirt from Sam. It had been so long since she had been able to talk with someone normally. And thanks to Keeling, she knew that there was a good chance that she would never have a real relationship again.

"Teagan, just so you fully understand," Sam's voice sounded a bit hesitant, as if he was worried about this talk, "Natasha is currently looking for your Hydra project file on the internet. Now that we know your and its name, searching the dumped files will be much easier than whatever Ross tried to do."

"What happens when she finds it? Do I get locked up for what I did?"

Sam began to quickly and profusely abate that fear.

" _Never_. They kidnapped you. We all know that with the torture you endured that anything you did, including taking out any agents, was the only way for you to ensure your own survival."

"What about the people who I forced to give up information? They never would have done anything like that if it hadn't been for me," she pointed out.

"Do you know if there are still people passing information along to Hydra?" he asked her.

"I don't know," she told him. "If they still work where they used to, then the commands I gave would still be going. With how the commands were worded, there was no end time for them to stop after any length of time."

"Well, we are not going to hold any of that against you, just like we don't blame Bucky for what Hydra made him do."

Hearing that was very reassuring coming from him. They may have told her as such yesterday but she had feared last night that with them now getting a bit of down time with which to consider her actions that they would change their minds.

"But when Nat finds the file, she can see if there's any secret spies that the government needs to know about. If so, we'll pass along the story of what happened to them so that they will hopefully not be held accountable. More than likely they'll be moved to less secure positions. There's a very good chance that Steve might also want to look through the file trying to find out what else Hydra had been working on that needed your abilities. And, I would also like to look through it too, but for a different reason," Sam solemnly told her.

"What reason?" she was a lot more nervous again.

"Before all of this started, and even before meeting Steve, I used to work with military veterans in D.C. who needed help readjusting to normal life after coming back from a war zone."

"But I didn't…" she started, not understanding his comment.

"No, but you _were_ held _captive_ for over a decade. That took a big mental toll on you, even if it hasn't started getting to you yet. But over the next few weeks, I'm expecting you to start having nightmares about being recaptured or about what happened to you during your time with Hydra. I've noticed how you sometimes can quickly grow agitated, especially when Hydra and Keeling, in particular, are mentioned."

She couldn't help but bristle at just hearing that name aloud.

"See what I mean," Sam told her with a bit of a jovial voice trying to distract her. "And since you'll be with me and Steve, I don't want you to try and keep any problems you encounter all to yourself. Steve's been to a real war zone and also had some problem readjusting when he was first woken up. Talk with either of us and we'll make sure that you get any help you need."

"I'll try," she told him. "For the past two days, this is the most that I've spoken to anyone in years."

"Well you'll be getting a lot more practice with the two of us," he told her as Bucky and Steve appeared, coming towards them from the path leading down to the large pools at the base of the waterfalls. Nodding his head towards the two, "Steve loves to talk about Bucky and Brooklyn so those are always easy topics with him. Out of curiosity, what did you used to enjoy before…"

She knew what he was trying to say without upsetting her.

"My Hydra holiday?" she decided to joke with him.

"That's one way to look at it."

"I used to work at my aunt and uncle pub on the weekends but I was also one of the entertainers."

"So you're a musician? Any particular instrument?"

"The bodhran and a fiddle," she told him letting her accent out and smiling at remembering how she used to love playing. Practicing the fingers' positioning for all the songs she could remember had been one of her only forms of entertainment. She would sit and just listen to the music in her head for hours.

"What's a bodhran?"

"A large hand held drum that you beat with a double-ended knucklebone. It's used to help keep the beat."

"And you would play at the pub?"

"Yes. There was a group of us that would gather every weekend and just play anything we felt like. It would last for hours while others drank, sang along, and listened to us," she told him as Steve and Bucky finally opened the den's door.

Spotting them, they came over close to where they sat.

"Mind if we joining the two of you?" Steve asked.

Steve looked over at her, letting her make the decision if they wanted company.

"Not at all," she easily told them so they took up seats across to join them. They were an easy group to get along with, she was figuring out.

"Steve's parents were actually born in Ireland," Sam told her looking over at Steve.

"I know," she gave a sly smile.

"Really?" Steve answered a bit shocked. "Most people don't know that."

"They may not teach it in the American history books, but we Irish are a proud lot when it comes to our own. The fact that someone of pure Irish descent is now considered America's greatest hero was...is?...an amusing fact to us," she couldn't stop grinning at seeing Steve turn a bit red in embarrassment.

"Well, after the past few weeks, I have a feeling that their image of me might be a bit swayed in the other direction," Steve told her.

"That's just the Irish stubbornness coming out, I'm sure," she told him, getting Bucky to laugh a bit.

"So _that's_ it...I always wondered where his moxie came from," Bucky stated.

"Teagan," Steve then got her attention, "I've noticed how your accent seems to come and go. Is there a reason for that?"

Taking a heavy breath, she then told them, "Keeling wanted to make sure that when I had to question anyone that there would not be any mistaking what I was asking, especially once they had to hold a gun to their own head. So for a long time he had me…doing a type of dialect training to get rid of the accent. Now, after so long of having to do so, when talking with anyone, I'll keep my speech plain, but there are times when my accent does come back."

Sam gave a bit of a frown, probably guessing the truth that there was more to her statement. But they didn't really want to know about the shock treatments or beatings she'd endured as part of that dialect training.

"It reminds me of your mom," Bucky then solemnly told Steve with a sad smile. "Soft spoken most of the time until we would push her too far, and then it would appear."

"It's nice to hear, especially without being in trouble," Steve then told her, making her blush a bit with the comment.

For so long, she'd be beaten if it accidentally slip through. Ross hadn't cared if it was there one way or another just as long as she answered his questions. Was he _ever_ disappointed.

Over the next hour as the four of them continued to talk, one by one the rest of the strange group that had found her slowly made their way into the room and began to regale her with a few of their outlandish talks of heroism.

At first she wanted to believe that they were lying just to amuse her but when it came to a few of the stranger items, Sam would use a nearby tablet to pull up pictures to prove the story true. It had been so long since anyone had been so open and honest with her without the use of her powers.

Teagan really liked that. But would it stay that way?

"Wanda, I was telling Teagan earlier that you might be willing to do a trick for her, so that she could see your powers," Sam commented across the way.

"Sam told me that you had some kind of magic power but never explained what kind?" she let her know.

"Who has a good suggestion?" Wanda then asked the others.

"I left a book out on the patio," Nat stated. "Care to get it for me?"

Wanda began to gesture with her hands, a red glow emerging from nowhere. Sam nudged her arms and nodded towards the outside for her to look. Teagan glanced out of the window and spotted the book resting on the outdoor sofa. Suddenly, the same glowing red mist enveloped it before the book began to rise into the air. Her eyes were wide as she watched it float towards the closed door, pausing mid-flight once reaching the barrier. Then another mist formed over the door's handle as it opened, allowing the book to continue on until it came to a rest in Natasha's open hands. The door then was closed by Wanda's powers.

"That was...was...brilliant," she managed to say as Wanda smiled at her. Glancing at the others, they didn't seem as impressed, but they had probably seen her powers many times. "Can you lift a lot?"

"She once stopped a derailed subway train skidding down a street," Natasha told her.

"Really?"

"Yes," Wanda answered appearing a bit shy with the attention. "I can also use it to levitate myself or others."

"So you can fly? That sounds so cool," she told her.

"You know that I can fly also, right?" Sam pointed out to her.

Bucky then chimed in, "Raise your hand if Wanda's powers are way better than Sam's toy wings."

All of the group then had a hand in the air and a smile on their face as they picked on Sam. Teagan could see that they all were a friendly group and it reminded her so much of her family and friends back home, teasing each other if given the chance.

"I still hate you," Sam looked right at Bucky, who only chuckled at the comment, not getting angry at all.

"So is Wanda the only one with special powers?" she asked them.

A few of them glanced over at Clint who took on a look of innocence.

"What?" he asked gesturing with raised hands.

"There is no way that you could make some of your shots without having some kind of enhancement," Scott pointed out.

"Nope, all my talent is purely natural training," he firmly stated.

"There's no way," Scott told him.

"Unfortunately, he's telling the truth," Natasha informed them. "Unless there's something that I never found out about."

"As if I could hide anything from you," Clint rolled his eyes. "You are horrible to deal with at Christmastime. I gave up years ago with trying to hide presents from you."

"So what do you do?" she asked Scott, only knowing his nickname as Ant-Man.

"I have to show you," Scott madly grinned before hopping up and running out the room.

"Is that strange for him?" she asked.

"No," Sam, Clint, and Wanda all answered.

Sam then got her attention, stating, "Steve's enhanced but I'm sure that you know all about that."

"By primary school," she told him, but then turned to look at Bucky, recalling something he said much earlier. "But how would you know Steve's mom. That's not possible."

She hesitated to actually state they were lying to her, hoping that they weren't.

"Because I grew up with little Stevie here," Bucky elbowed Steve in the side.

"That's a..." but then she stopped herself from actually saying the word 'lie'. Everyone around her knew what she wanted to accuse him of, but they probably also knew the truth, and if Bucky had been lying, she would hope that they would stop him. So, instead she asked, "How is that possible?"

"Do you remember anything about how during the war I worked with the Howling Commandos?" Steve asked her.

"Not much," she admitted. "It's been a while for me since I sat in history class."

Steve nodded since he understood.

"Bucky was my friend growing up, and then later on during the war when the Commandos were formed, he was one of us. There was an accident and he was captured by Hydra in 1945. Over the past seventy years, they used the cryo-freeze technology on him which prevented him from aging."

She did seem to recall that there had been only one fatality with the Commandos besides Steve's plane going down.

"So how old are you?" she asked.

"Technically, I'm ninety-nine years old, but physically you can see I'm still somewhere in my early thirties," he told her.

"Truthfully?" she had to ask.

"Yes," Steve answered for him. "We are not going to lie to you about anything."

"That would be a nice change," she mumbled, knowing that at least Sam sitting next to her could hear her.

"Alright, ready to be impressed?" Scott then asked as he stepped into the room wearing a unusual black and red outfit.

"Is that some kind of motorcycle helmet?" she asked.

"Nope," he grinned standing across the coffee table from her.

Holding out his fist, she watched as he made a fist before disappearing in front of her.

"What the bloody hell?" she asked looking around.

"It's not what you think," Sam told her before pointing down at the coffee table.

On the smooth, shiny metal surface, she noticed something very small hopping towards her. Scooting to the edge of the sofa, she finally managed to focus in on a small man standing there waving up at her.

"Is that..." she could only point down at him.

"Yep, that's Tic-Tac," Sam told her. "Anyone got a rolled up newspaper?"

Suddenly the little man jumped back high into the air, growing back to normal size during his rotation before landing on his feet.

"Not funny," Scott said opening the face mask back up.

"Since you shrink to the size of an ant, that's how you got your name," she stated.

Getting a smug grin, Scott then told her, "Well, it also has to do with the fact that I can control ants."

"Control ants?" she asked, knowing she sounded skeptical.

"My own little army. Oh, and not only that, but I can get grow in size too," he told her with a grin, reaching up again for his helmet.

"Not in here," most of the group shouted with a few waving their arms to stop him.

"Just kidding," he grinned taking the helmet off and sitting back down. "So what about your power? Can you really make anyone do anything? Even embarrassing stuff like clucking like a chicken?"

"Yes," she managed to say after a laugh. "Hydra had me tested in numerous ways, trying to see my limitations."

"You mentioned yesterday something about ' _the truth as you know it_ '," Sam asked her. "What did you mean?"

"It was to see if someone was told a lie if they would repeat it as the truth," Teagan decided to explain. "If someone told you a code word, but it was a lie, if I asked for the code word, you would say what you believed it to be."

"That seems like something that would be a given," Natasha stated.

"Yes, but when questioning agents and officials, if they had the wrong information, that was what would be given as an answer, not the real truth."

"So someone can't answer what they don't really know," Clint commented. "The power doesn't make them suddenly know an answer."

"Exactly, which they found very disappointing," she admitted. "Also, if they don't already know how to do something, if they've heard of the skill, they'll try to perform it. But if they have never heard of it, they can't do anything."

"Like what?" Scott asked.

"I can't command Sam to hack into a government's computer if he doesn't have the skill. But if I told you to knit a scarf, you'd at least pick up the tools and try."

"Can you make someone _not_ be able to _use_ an existing skill?" Natasha had a sly smile on her face.

"Yes..."

Turning to Clint, she asked him, "Want to have a small test?"

Shaking his head, "I'm not having anyone in my mind again."

"It's not your mind, just your skills," Natasha told him. "Say a test of tossing small stones into a can, and then being told to miss."

"Absolutely not," he crossed his arms. "I never miss."

"Conceited much?" Scott jokingly asked.

"Just the truth," he told him before looking right at her, "which I know _you'll_ appreciate."

"Only if you're _not_ lying," she pointed out. "I've never seen any proof that you any good, only a bit 'o braggin'."

Clint then dug into his pant's pocket and pulled out a small piece of metal that looked like an arrowhead. Looking around the room, he focused on a empty vase on a table at the far wall.

"There's no way," she told him seeing him lining up his toss.

Seconds later, the arrowhead flew through the air to make a pinging sound reaching the bottom, falling inside without even touching the rim of the vase.

"Showoff," Wanda told him.

"Really, my favorite witch?" he grinned. "You're supposed to be on my side."

"What about if someone wants to do something?" Scott then asked. "Could you powers help them to do it? Like stop smoking? Or lose weight?"

"Yes, as long as it's worded right. They tested getting rid of an addiction...and...also..." her words slowly trailed off and she found that she couldn't finish.

Teagan's mind began to drift back to the one test that had haunted her for a long time.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked, startling her from the memory. "Was it something that happened during a test?"

She nodded her head, and worriedly looked over at the others, wondering what they would think about what had happened.

"Do you want to tell us?" Natasha asked, not sounding judgemental at all. Her voice sounded a bit sad, like she almost knew what she would say.

If this group was really going to let her stay with them, then they needed to understand exactly what she could do. Telling them about this incident would go along way with seeing how much they actually trusted her to be free. Once this was out, she would know if they considered her a danger to them.

"It was another test, to see if someone could override my command," she slowly began to explain, hoping that it was not a mistake. "An agent that had failed a mission was brought in and they had me command him to refuse to eat or drink ever again."

Sam's soft, calm voice asked her, "What happened?"

"They moved me from my normal cell, which was down a hall all by itself, to the area where prisoners to be questioned were kept. They locked him in a cell right across the hall from me with all sorts of stuff to eat and drink. For however long it took, he stayed in there screaming at me to release him from the command. I know it was days, but I'm not sure how long, before he finally starved to death."

They were all quiet as they sat there, probably trying to decide if they needed to lock her up.

"Even with the food in front of him, he wouldn't touch it?" Bucky then asked her.

"Technically, he could touch it, just not eat it. He'd shove food into his mouth but the command prevented him from chewing or swallowing it. Sometimes he would throw items through the small window on the door in my direction while cursing me. Every meal, Keeling made sure that the guard stopped by my cell so I could see and smell the nice, hot meal he was being offered. Hours later, he would eventually toss it against the wall in frustration of not being able to eat."

"Why would Keeling do something like that to you?" Steve asked her.

"He used any opportunity he could to remind me that I was under his control. The feeding tube was in place so that I couldn't eat solid food. My arms were secured how Keeling normally had them, along with the gag being in place. He wanted to make sure that I could not somehow release the command verbally, even though that's not how my powers work," she told them all. "Forcing me to smell real meals, something I hadn't had in so long, was just another happy form of torture for him. And they made sure to bring in some of the agent's favorite dishes as an incentive to break free of the command."

"So he was just tormenting you because of how much of a monkey's uncle he was," Clint tried to lighten the mood.

"Monkey's uncle?" Scott looked over accusingly at him with the childish phrase.

"If I get into a habit of cursing and then do it in front of the kids, I'll be sleeping in the dog house," he pointed out. Turning back to her, "If I ever get the chance, I'll make sure to put an arrow in Keeling keester for you. He'll never sit properly again."

"I'd much rather you aim for his heart," she honestly told him, hoping that it somehow came true. With as much of a grin as she could, "I know it's a small, probably impossible, target to find, even for you."

To get back to more light-heartedness, the others then began with more tales of other achievements, each trying to outdo the others. Not a one of them acted worried about her still being free. She was sure that after hearing about her killing the man with a simple command that one of them would point out how much of a danger she was to them. But none of them did. After a while, Teagan realized that maybe she really didn't have anything to fear from them.

Throughout the day, she had slowly become more comfortable being around the sharing, teasing group. As they began to join them one by one, she noticed a slight nervousness at first which quickly went away. She was now surrounded by eight extraordinary people, all of them with powers or talents she never thought would exist.

For so long, she had always believe that she was the only one out there, and that was why Hydra had kept her. Even hearing about Project Winter Soldier, she'd had no knowledge of the individual behind it she now knew as Bucky.

Teagan was glad that Hydra never went after the others for whatever reason they may have had. With her powers, and the correct wording of the command, they could have easily had her to command them to obey Hydra without a hint of disloyalty.

She doubted they understood just how lucky they were.


	11. Sam Worries for Teagan and Gets Upset

**Wakanda**   
**Hours Later**

Sam watched over Teagan for the rest of the day and evening, trying to gauge how she was able to relate with the others. For someone who had been held captive for so long, he was glad to see that for the most part she was able to at least accomplish small talk with them. He remembered the videos of her withdrawing into herself and rocking, but it seemed that she could overcome that given the chance to interact with people.

If asked a question she would usually answer or contribute if she knew something about what they were discussing. He had a feeling that she had heard a lot of Hydra intel, but that either she didn't understand the significance of it, such as Project Winter Soldier, or had just forgotten it. Some of it was probably before Project Insight anyways and may not be of any importance anymore thanks to the internet file drop.

Eleven years of interrogating agents had to have been tough on her, especially once her powers evolved.

They all talked until T'Challa returned very close to dinner time, joining in with a couple of his own stories dealing with outside bandits trying to enter his country.

Sitting down at the table for dinner, he noticed a wide smile on Teagan's face and asked her what had caused it.

"Look," she told him, holding up a fork perfectly in her hand. "I can do _this_."

He was happy that the shots were working but it also saddened him that such a simple task had been taken from her to begin with. She was so proud of the accomplishment, and he wanted to make sure that later on he thanked T'Challa again later on for helping her in this way.

Steve and Bucky slipped away after dinner to have a few more hours of quiet time together before they were separated again. He had explained more of Bucky's story to Teagan after she watched them leaving the group for the outside patio seats. Not long after, the two of them were gone, probably headed down to the waterfalls again. Bucky had mentioned how much he had enjoyed them so Sam guessed that was where they were.

T'Challa had taken a quiet moment to inform him that he had spotted Teagan out at the waterfalls by herself very late into the night. Sam asked if it was a problem for her to be wandering around, and if so, he would either tell her that she needed to stay inside or join her to keep an eye on her.

But T'Challa only said that if she wanted to wander the grounds that it was fine. He only wanted someone else in their group to know in case this became a habit of hers once they were on their own again.

The group had now split up to get some sleep before they left tomorrow morning. He was walking with Teagan since her bedroom was right next to his. And maybe he had actually enjoyed sitting next to her as they all had watched a raunchy comedy movie. Even though everyone else in the group had seen it before, for Teagan it had been her first time so listening to her laugh at the jokes had made them new again.

"How are your hands doing?" he asked again for probably the third time since dinner. She had been fidgeting with her fingers all night as they healed. During the movie, she'd played with her popcorn more than eating it. "Still feeling better with no side effects?"

"They feel totally hatchet, better than they have in a long time," he could hear the happiness in her voice using the strange Irish slang. "I think that if they keep up this way, that I might be able to play the fiddle again someday."

Sam smiled at hearing that. He had introduced her to YouTube earlier today by having her name a few of her favorite songs and finding videos of different group playing them. If he had to guess, she might have enjoyed seeing those videos more than the movie they just had.

Reaching her door, he glanced inside as she opened it, noticing that there was something odd.

"Teagan, where are your pillows?" he asked nodding his head towards her bed.

She turned around and he saw her eyes widen a bit as she bit her lower lip, as if trying to figure out what to tell him.

"Um, they're in the closet," she finally managed to admit in a low voice.

Sam knew from other stories that he'd heard from veterans why they were there.

"You slept in there last night to make sure that nobody could sneak up and get to you, right?" he asked hoping that she would be honest in her admission.

"Yeah," she wouldn't make eye contact with him and even looked around as if to make sure that nobody heard. "But I did start off in the bed."

"I knew a few soldiers that would do the same thing after coming back from overseas. They would have to find a place to sleep out in the field sometimes and needed to secure it so they couldn't be ambushed. When they returned, they would continue the habit until they were comfortable with their location. Is that what you were doing?"

Teagan stepped inside of the room before answering, "Kind of."

He followed her inside as she made her way over to the closet and opened the door. Reaching just inside of the door, she pulled out the pillows and a blanket before moving to put them on the bed. He could tell that she was having a hard time admitting the full truth.

"I had a bad dream last night," she started as she sat down on the edge of the bed. He moved to sit down not far away. "I was back in my cell at the Raft. Keeling showed up and used the pole on me. He said he was there to take me back to Hydra."

Sam hated that even though she had been free from this Keeling guy for at least two years that he still haunted her dreams. Nat had quietly told him just before dinner that she had found the Project Cherry Tree file online. Since the group had gone from there to the den to watch the movie, he had not had a chance to go through it and read up on Keeling or whatever horrors Teagan had been through. He had figured with the long flight home tomorrow that he could read it then, not wanting to take the chance that it gave him his own nightmares.

"So this morning when I asked how you slept, your answer of 'good' was not exactly accurate?" he asked her jokingly while leaning over to bump her shoulder with his.

Teagan dropped her head at being caught but he could see a wary smile on her face.

"Maybe, but I'm guessing that most people don't have a real easy time sleeping on their first night free?"

He hated hearing how she had to word that question. Usually it ended with 'first night back home', but that was not the case for her.

"Not really," he did agree with her. "But, I don't want you to feel that sleeping in a closet is your only option. We're going to be spending some time together. If you wake up like that again, and you need to feel safe, just come over to my room. I don't want you to have to deal with nightmares alone. I don't care what time it is, you come talk to me, alright?"

Teagan's face pinched up with emotion at his offer, and she almost looked like she wanted to cry at being just given the offer of help. Sam reached over and took her hand into his, this time she didn't flinch at all.

"When we leave here tomorrow, Steve and I will be there any time that you need us," he told her. "There's nothing that you should have to feel that you need to keep bottled up. If a simple hot chocolate at four in the morning will help keep the bad dreams away, I'll make sure we have a ready stock available."

Teagan gave a laugh at the offer.

"I'm more of a hot toddy girl, or at least I used to be," she told him. He felt her fingers twitch so he let her hand go, not wanting to force a touch onto her.

"Hot toddy?" he asked.

"Warm Irish whiskey, cloves, lemon, and sugar," she listed off the ingredients. "It's guaranteed to put you to sleep, or knock you out depending on how much whiskey you add to the drink."

With a smile, "It sounds like it. But watch out if you drink with Steve. Alcohol doesn't have an effect on him anymore. He can drink anyone except maybe Bucky under the table."

"I used to be able to hold my own, but I know a few guys back home that would love to put that challenge to the test," she told him.

This his mind began to calculate out when she was taken.

"What were you doing drinking at such a young age?"

Her eyebrows rose in response to the question.

"America still has that high legal drinking age, don't they?"

"High age? Twenty-one is high?"

"I used to have a stout on my birthdays and at celebrations by the age of fifteen," she told him, making his jaw drop a bit.

"Fifteen?" he asked, guessing he knew the rest. "So you started sneaking drinks?"

Now she was actually shaking her head at him.

"My parents gave it to me. There's no legal age to _drink_ in private, only to _buy_. Besides, it was me family that owned the pub. They did'na care if I had a pint or two."

"So then, would you have any good drunk stories?" he asked with a smile.

"Maybe," she answered before her smile fell.

"What's wrong?" he gave her hand a light squeeze.

"I just remembered one of those stories that happened with the band. I don't even know if those guys are even still alive, or if they even still play on the weekends," she admitted.

"Give Natasha a few weeks to see what she can come up with. We'll try everything possible to get you safely home," he knocked his knee against her leg as he hoped that he was not giving her false hope.

Teagan began to focus downward to his arm resting next to hers. Reaching over, she placed her hand back into his, making him curious as to what she was doing.

Looking up right into his eyes, he wondered if she was about to use her powers on him, but then she said something that he had not expected.

"You're not scared of me touching you?"

Sam knew that her powers depended on skin to skin contact, but there was no real reason for him to have been worried about that. He was not threatening her and she didn't seem scared right now.

"No, I'm not," he said giving her hand another light squeeze. "Why would I be?"

Teagan broke eye contact then, before telling him, "Keeling was. He would only touch me if I was restrained in at least one other way, but usually more. He also made sure that all of the agents around us knew that they should be scared of what could happen. They were ordered to…punish me if I ever touched anyone, no matter if it was accidentally, or even their own fault."

Sam recalled how when they were on the Quinjet just after leaving the Raft how there were a couple of times when someone, himself included, had sat down next to Teagan and she had recoiled away.

"Is that why you sometimes flinch away from anyone touching you? Like on the Quinjet when someone sat next to you? Because you thought that you would be punished for touching them?"

Teagan only nodded her head in agreement as her answer. Sam felt his stomach drop.

Looking at their hands still holding each other, he said, "But you don't seem to mind this?"

"No," she was hesitant but continued, "My friends and family were very affectionate, always hugging, or piled up together at the pub holding each other up on the stools from falling off so we could keep drinking. It reminds me of them. And I'm not scare of you anymore."

Sam knew his eyes grew wider at hearing that.

"You _were_ scared of me?"

With a nod, "I'm still a wee bit scared of everyone of ya."

"Why?"

"All it would take is making a' one of you angry for me to end up back in a cell."

There was no disguising the fear in her voice at the very open admission.

"Teagan," he said reaching over to now take her other hand also into his. Turning them slightly, they now were face to face. "Not a single one of us will _ever_ put you back into a cell for any reason that I can think of. I don't care how mad one of us might get, but that is _not_ something that you _ever_ need to fear. What you've see of us for the past two days is how we generally are…a crazy, mismatched group of people who have the strangest bond of friendship you'll find on this planet."

"None of you _ever_ get mad at each other?"

Sam though back to only a few weeks ago for the perfect example.

"Think of it this way…back during the fight at the airport that we told you about, Clint and Natasha ended up fighting each other for a bit. They started off on opposite sides of the conflict. Wanda then ended up separating them, tossing Nat with her powers into a luggage truck."

He could see her recalling how the three of them had been joking and enjoying each other's company yesterday and today. She also knew that they were all going back to Clint's for a while since Wanda had agreed to go after dinner tonight.

"See?" he pointed out. "None of them are even mad at the others."

"So when Steve said as long as I didn't become a threat…"

"He was only trying to point out that he will make sure that his friends don't get hurt. And I think that for the past two days that you've shown us that you will _not_ be a threat."

Teagan seemed to accept his assessment and began to nod her head in agreement.

"I don't want to hurt any of you, especially after what ya did for me. Thanks to Ross' measures, I never would have gotten off of that base if it wasn't for ya deciding to take me," she told him, making him curious as to the wording of it.

"Base? You mean the Raft?"

"Yes."

"Technically, the Raft is a prison, not a base," his mind then began to go over details of his own stay. "Teagan, didn't anyone there explain exactly _where_ you were?"

Shaking her head, he could see her curiosity at his question, "Not really. They told me ' _at the Raft_ ' but I just figured that was the base's nickname. It's not like I got me a tour 'round the place."

"Nobody ever explained to you _where_ the Raft is?"

"No," she shook her head. "Why? Was there something special about it?"

"The Raft prison facility is usually housed _under the ocean_ somewhere in the north Atlantic. The rumbling you felt every so often was it rising out of the ocean to open the top to allow aircraft to land inside of it," he explained as her eyes grew wide.

"I just figured the shaking was a larger plane landing, or maybe a helicopter. So even if I _had_ gotten out of my cell, there was _nowhere_ to run to?"

"No," he told her. "You would still have been trapped underneath the ocean too far down to swim to the surface."

"Ross or Ryker _never_ explained that to me," he saw her shoulders slump a bit. "They were always so careful about what I could see when they moved me around. I just thought they never took me near windows, just like another one of my Hydra rules…no windows to let me know either time or location."

"Didn't they take you out for the exercise hour?" but as soon as he asked, he remembered how she had been detained. He didn't think they would keep putting the restraints on and off of her each day. Would they?

"Exercise hour?" she was shaking her head. "The only places I saw were the interrogation room, the medical bay, and my cell. The only exercise I got was walking the halls between the three."

There had not been any video's listed as security footage from the gym, but it hadn't occurred to him at the time about the missing footage. Sam's teeth noshed together and his jaw felt a low pain at how hard he was clamping his mouth shut before he began a string of curses at Ross. Teagan noticed the change in his body's posture and stood to take a few steps away from him, not understanding why he was suddenly angry.

Raising his hands, he held them up before him, "I'm sorry, Teagan, it's not you. It's Ross. I can't _believe_ what all he did to you. Even though the Raft is considered solitary confinement, _all prisoners_ are supposed to get at least one hour a day in the gym. It's supposed to be a break from being in the cell, to help with the detrimental effects of the isolation on the mind, even if they didn't use the equipment."

"Gym?" her face was curious. "I never saw any type of gym."

Sam put his elbows on his knees as he continued to sit there stewing about how Teagan had spent the past two years. Then when he considered how Ross liked to keep her restrained, he should have guessed that of course she didn't get 'released' every day to use a gym.

"The _moment_ that Ross first found out about you, he should have freed you. Instead, once he found out that nobody else knew about you, he took it upon himself to become your new captor. To try and get you to work for him. The _nerve_ of that egotistical man is beyond measure."

Teagan made her way over to the bed and sat back down next to him.

"Even without the gym, _and_ dealing with Ross' punishments, my time on the Raft was considered a _holiday_ compared to my time with Keeling."

Sam didn't think that his gut could fall any further, but it just had.

" _That_ was better than Hydra?"

"Yeah, as you heard some of today, but I don't want to…" she shook her head to let him know that she did not want to discuss that time with him right now.

Maybe eventually she might need to get it off her chest, but it was probably still too fresh in her memory, especially if Keeling still gave her nightmares. He had heard a bit earlier with the group when it came to just a bit of the testing, and that alone sickened him.

"I understand," he told her as he placed his hand on hers. "It's getting late and I'm sure the group will be getting up early, anxious to get home."

Standing up, he walked over to the open bedroom door, hearing faint laughter coming from the den area that sounded like Steve and Bucky. At least their conversation was about a much happier topic.

"I'll see you in the morning," he told her taking hold of the door handle to shut it. "And remember, if you need someone in the middle of the night, just come get me."

"Thanks," she told him with a weak smile.

* * *

"What's got you so riled up?"

Sam paused his next strike at the punching bag as he heard Bucky's voice from the doorway behind him.

Glancing over his shoulder, he and Steve were making their way into the room dressed as if they were about to do a full workout. He had hoped to have a bit of alone time to work out his frustrations at Ross on the punching bag. He had laid in bed for only a few minutes before deciding to head down here.

"Ross," he simply stated.

"That cocky little guy from Berlin?" Bucky asked putting down his water bottle as Steve did the same with his. Seeing him like this with his missing arm, Sam took another punch at the bag but this time in honor of Tony.

"No, different Ross," he stated throwing a punch again thinking again of that conniving ass.

"If I guessed that this has something to do with Teagan, would I be right?" Steve asked him coming over to steady the bag for him.

He could see the seriousness on Steve's face as he asked, but not on Bucky's. If anything, the smile on his face right now was the same one Steve had mentioned to him when he had been the butt of Bucky's jokes.

"Wipe that grin off your face before it freezes that way," he told him punching the bag. "It's not like that."

"Then what is it that brings you down here so late?" Steve asked as Bucky sat down on the bench press to listen.

"We got to talking a bit more about her time on the Raft," he started to explain. "It turns out that nobody ever explained where or what the Raft really is. She thought it was just another land base that she could possibly escape out of if given the chance."

Steve and Bucky exchanged a look and he finally saw that grin leave his face.

"After she mentioned something else, I went back and looked for something in her file and found it. Ross ordered her only privilege on the Raft, the daily use of the gym, to be removed since he was so mad at her stunt," he took a couple of quick gabs before continuing. "Ross didn't even allow her that one hour of leisure like all the prisoners were supposed to be allowed to do, claiming that since she wasn't officially there that standard protocols didn't need to be followed. That asshat really did keep her in a type of solitary confinement, even beyond the restraints he had on her."

"She never figured out something was off with the place?" Bucky asked. "Didn't she notice that there were no windows to the outside?"

Taking a few more hard punches before answering, Sam tried to calm himself.

"No. As it turns out, another Keeling rule was that she was never to be allowed to see out of a window to know where she was or if it was day or night. To her, it was just like every other Hydra base she had ever been at."

As he punched the bag a few more times wondering what other rules she hadn't gotten around to mentioning yet, the two super-soldiers were glaring at each other. Bucky's time with then did not include such rules, just mind-wipes and brainwashing.

"Well, she finally free of both Hydra and Ross," Steve pointed out as he took a few more punches, feeling a bit better after being able to physically and verbally vent for a while.

"I'm going to make sure that Nat does a check on this Keeling guy that was in charge of Teagan," he told them giving the bag a final punch. "I need to know if he was at least one of the Hydra agents captured after D.C."

"That's a good idea," Bucky told him. "If he was, letting her know would probably help with her sleeping habits."

Sam bristled a bit at that, wondering why Bucky would have picked up on something so personal like that.

"Why do you say that?" he asked, also a bit worried...jealous...that he may know more that he did.

"Because of how late it was last night when she finally went to her room after staying outside alone for a while. Later on I heard a door slam shut before she started crying. Her room is between ours, but I'm almost sure that she was in the closet," Bucky simply stated.

Sam dropped his head, a bit saddened that he had not thought about the crying.

"She admitted to having a nightmare about Keeling finding her and taking her back to Hydra," he explained so they knew what to expect, but mostly for Steve's benefit since it would be the three of them for a while. "She told me about sleeping in the closet so nobody could get to her."

He then heard spoken so faintly from Bucky that Sam almost doubted himself, "I know that one."

But Steve's head dropped so he knew that he really had spoken.

"I told her that if she needed to, that she could come to either of us once we leave here," Sam told Steve, who nodded in approval.

"Also try to watch out for any signs that something you would consider normal is scaring her," Bucky told him, drawing his full attention. "She'll be going out into the public sometimes, and she's not used to being surrounded by people, crowds, anymore. They're all strangers, possibly Hydra. Her mind may tell her that a simple bump into someone is a threatening action."

Steve calmly watched Bucky as he had spoken, and Sam knew that neither one of them liked how he knew to give that advice. He was using his own experiences as examples for them.

"I'll keep that in mind," Sam told him starting to unwrap the gloves on his hands. "What are the two of you up to, being here so late?"

"A little race," Steve couldn't hide the smile that appeared.

Glancing between the two of them, he could tell that there was something more.

"Why?"

"He was so proud with how fast he could run after the serum during the war," Bucky started which had Steve dropping his head and sighing. "I just pointed out a little while ago that he's not that fast to me anymore. And if he _was_ faster, then he would have caught me in Bucharest. I'm just taking up his dare of seeing who's faster."

Sam crossed his arms as he held in his own grin, remembering how he had first met Steve.

"As much as I would love to see anyone put Steve's damn ' _on your left_ ' ass in place, you do realize that your body's weight and posture are going to be thrown off balance?" Sam nodded his head toward Bucky's shoulder and the missing limb. He'd talked with other veterans who discovered the problem not long after coming home. "But if he beats you, you can always pulled the disabled card."

"If?" Steve sounded heartbroken that Sam was pulling for Bucky to win.

Picking up his towel and water bottle, Sam held back his own smile at the jab he was able to give.

"Have fun, you two centenarians," he said tossing a wave over his shoulder.

"What the hell is a centenarian?" Bucky asked Steve.

"I'm not exactly sure but I think he just insulted us," Steve answered.

* * *


	12. Leaving Wakanda for a New Home

**Wakanda - Lower Lagoon Sitting Area  
Very Late At Night**

The bird calls had calmed down after sunset, but now the sounds of strange insects had taken their place. And they were almost drowned out by the roaring sound of the waterfalls across the way. Teagan had found herself a place to sit on a rocky outcropping, her legs dangling over the side. She was just above the water's height and it would be perfect for diving into the swirling pool.

The spot was further away from the villa than she had dared to go last night. But since nobody had stopped her then, and after spending the day with the group, she didn't think that she would get in trouble as long as she didn't try to run again. And with it being so late at night, she had the place to herself...

"It's nice out here, isn't it?"

Teagan heard from close behind her, startling her into almost falling forward off the rock and into the cold water of the waterfall's lagoon. Whipping her head around, she found Bucky standing only a few feet away, dressed for bed just like she was but with his hair wet as if he'd just showered.

His face took on a very sheepish grin, "Sorry. Out of everyone here, I'm the one that should be the most conscious of not sneaking up on you. And not only because of who I was...am."

Her body began to quickly calm down from the sudden fear rush at not finding active Hydra soldiers having snuck up behind her.

"I would have jumped no matter _who_ startled me," she told him.

Motioning with his hand, he indicated the area nearby her to see if it was fine for him to sit. Nodding her head, she silently agreed.

"Still. Just make sure you yell at Steve and Sam if they accidentally do the same. Don't let them get off this easy," he told her after taking a seat just over an arm's length away on her right. She didn't know if he did that on purpose so that he did not frighten her, or so that she had nothing of him to easily grab a hold of. It was a strange mutual fearful respect.

After a long stretch of strange silence, she asked, "Not tired?"

"After the race I just had with that slowpoke Steve, I'm fully awake. Besides, I'll be getting plenty of sleep starting tomorrow morning," Bucky told her, causing the same nervous tension she had felt at first hearing that he was going back into the cryo chamber. The danger that it would put him in, and how she could never do the same. Her fear of being taken back to that place, to Keeling, was too great a risk. She was almost worried for Bucky. He really was the only other one in the group who could understand what she had gone through.

"How can you do it?" she quietly asked.

"All I have to do is stand still. It's pretty easy," his voice had a hint of humor in it.

"No," she practically sighed in annoyance. "How can you put yourself into a situation where you will have no control, or the ability to run if Hydra came for you? They could show up in a week, and you'll just be trapped there while they load you into a truck to take you away. You'd never even know, and by the time you did, it would already be too late. You would be their tool again."

Bucky gave a heavy sigh, probably at hearing her own fears transposed onto him.

"I've had the same thoughts, fears. But right now, with what was done to me, I already don't have any control. I need to start trying to take my life back from them. Hydra has consumed my existence far more than it ever should have...the same goes for you. When they began to turn me into the Winter Soldier, they removed everything that made me a person. They stripped me of my conscious, down to my memories which made me who I was. For the past two years since Steve set me free, I've slowly been getting a life back, but my mind is still not my own to control. As long as those damned words are inside of me, I'll always be theirs. If there is the _chance_ that Shuri _can_ remove them, then I have to hope that T'Challa will be able to keep me safe until then."

"But you don't even know him, if I understood the stories that I've heard today," she pointed out.

"You're right, I don't," he admitted, picking up a small pebble and tossing it into the water below. "But from what you now know of him, do you think that when he says something that he honestly believes it will happen?"

Teagan stared out over the water, watching the current wash away the ripples from the stone.

"He's the king, or whatever. Just because he _wants_ something to happen doesn't mean that outside forces won't try to alter it. Just because he _thinks_ he can stop Hydra doesn't mean that he _can_."

"With some of the technology that I've seen around here for the past week or so, I _believe_ that they can," he told her. "I guess I'll just have to have _faith_."

Teagan didn't mean to give the loud disapproving snort at his comment. Bucky turned a raised eyebrow her way, looking for an explanation.

"Faith is not something that exist for me anymore. I prayed for years that somehow one day, someone, anyone, would find me and free me. It never happened. My belief in any type of faith is not what it once used to be."

"That doesn't mean that you can't find it once again," he said. "The freedom you wanted might not have been inside of the timeline you were hoping for but Steve _did_ find you and look where you are now. You _are_ free from Keeling _and_ Ross _and_ have a group of friends that will make sure that it stays that way."

" _Only_ until they get scared of me," her voice was just above a whisper.

She was not even sure if Bucky had heard her until he spoke.

"Between the two of us, I'm pretty sure that if they were scared of _one_ of us that it would be _me_ ," he pointed out.

"Says the man about to be _locked away_ in the morning," she contradicted.

Bucky turned to look at her again with a grin, "See, so you have nothing to worry about."

She couldn't help but give a slight laugh at his dark humor.

"Besides, that punk Steve unfortunately has never been scared of anything. Not even Hydra. Hence, all the trouble he can get himself into."

It was almost comical that she was listening to someone describe Captain America without all the gushing accolades that were usual. Bucky had actually known him since childhood, and knew him on a different level than anyone else alive.

"And, that pesky Wilson fellow...he'll blindly follow Steve anywhere," Bucky's words may sound harsh, but there was a lightness in his voice that told another story. After seeing the two of them going at each other today, she'd guess they liked annoying each other. "You'll have to keep them both under control. Actually, yell at Steve with that same accent that his mom had and that should help."

Looking over at him, Teagan remembered something from the Raft.

"You know, when they came into my cell on the Raft, Sam basically told Steve that they should just leave me there, thinking I might be dangerous. But for whatever reason, Steve decided to take me with them."

"Sam _not_ agreeing with Steve? That _has_ to be a first," Bucky chucked another rock into the water. "But knowing Steve, if he had _not_ taken you and later found out about your history, I can easily see him breaking _back_ _into_ the Raft just to get you out."

"Really?" she was a bit shocked to hear that. "Why? I'm a nobody. He doesn't know me."

"Steve can't stand to see others hurting. It's part of why we're in some of this mess," he told her while glancing down at his missing limb. "He'll try to keep others safe, even if it risks..." he paused for a few seconds. "You know what? Never mind. I'd never actually speak bad about Steve. He just tries too hard to make everything right and sometimes that's not possible."

Others had told her a bit about what started their in-group dispute, but his words sounded like there was more to it. But Teagan knew that if he wanted her to know more about what had happened to bring them all there, then he would tell her. But maybe it was too fresh in his own mind to deal with.

"But as I was saying, I'm pretty sure Steve would have gone back to the Raft for you. Learning what you would have been through and that he had left you there...it would have haunted him. I'm glad that they _did_ find you though. Anyone who has been hurt by Hydra needs a chance at a new life."

Listening to him, Teagan knew that her original assumption of Bucky was way off. He was damaged and hurt, just like her, which made him all the more cautious. She couldn't fault him for that, especially since she still was worried about fully trusting this new group.

"You know, yesterday on the patio, when I dared Steve to let me question him, I thought you were a bit mean," she told him, getting a look of curiousness from him. "But I realized later on that _you_ were the _only one_ of the group to really see the _danger_ that your friend was possibly putting himself into."

Bucky's lips pressed together, as if he wanted to admit to something but was hesitant. Instead, he tossed another pebble away.

"Go ahead, tell me," she offered.

"I was worried that even though you seemed calm, that you might lash out at him and somehow kill him," Bucky admitted. "I think the others were more curious to see your powers in action and not considering the danger involved with them."

"If I had done something to Steve, would you have killed me?" she calmly asked. She wondered if he would be honest with her.

"Not until after I prevented Steve from doing whatever you commanded and then had you fix him."

Giving a slight laugh, he glared at her so she told him, "I was expecting a different answer, a nice lie to make me feel better. Not the actual truth."

"What's the point in lying to you? You'd just get the truth out of me, if you wanted to," he told her. "You'll find that Steve will probably do the same. Sam too. So if you _want_ the sugarcoated lie, let them know."

Looking over at him watching the waterfall, she decided to ask, "Would you like for me to try and see if my powers can override whatever Hydra did to you? The command would have to be worded just right for it to work."

Bucky's eyebrows raised as he glared over at her. She knew that there was no real trust between the two of them, but she should at least offer. She might be free of Hydra, but it sounded like he still was not.

"Even Shuri does not fully understand what they did to me, manipulating my subconscious, as she described it. Did they ever have you doing that kind of testing?" he said sounding curious, maybe a bit hopeful.

Giving a shake of her head, "I heard the doctors mention that I 'overrode the consciousness.' They never mentioned the subconscious. And I don't think they considered that with any of their test."

Bucky picked up another stone and tossed it away, "Then the only way to see if it would work would be to try and activate my programming."

"What exactly does that mean?" she asked. "I know the others mentioned the fight and your escape in Germany, but I don't understand why it was different for you."

Bucky sighed heavily, as if considering to even tell her.

"Hydra figured out a way to push my mind to the side, so that only a blank slate is left. The person in charge of me, the one that speaks the proper words, then fills my blank mind with their own commands, like in Germany. The fake doctor instructed me to free myself from the containment facility at any cost, using the helicopter to escape. I took out any guard, any agent, any Avenger that stood in my way...including Steve."

"You fought with Captain America? Your best friend?" she asked knowing she sounded a bit star-struck. She'd grown up hearing stories about how mighty Steve was.

"Thanks to Hydra, I've actually fought him a couple of times," Bucky had a small smile going. "Like I said, the punk just can't seem to keep himself out of fights."

"Well, isn't that what Captain America is supposed to do?"

"I guess so since I don't see him stopping any time soon. So, even if you tried to command me to ignore the words, the only real test would be to activate me, putting me into someone's control. I can't go through that again without knowing for sure it worked, even if it was Steve who would be in charge. And it could be too much of a risk to everyone if it didn't work. I can't willingly let myself be put through that."

Teagan knew where Bucky was coming from what that comment. Just like she was worried about this group tricking her and then using her powers for their own benefit, he was worried about falling into someones control again. So much so he couldn't even risk it being Steve, the one person he was sure to trust.

"I think that having Shuri and her computers see about having them removed instead would be for the best," he told her. "Thanks for the offer though."

Bucky sounded sincere and she understood his hesitations when it came to her powers. She just smiled and nodded her head as a deep yawn took over.

"I better head on to bed," she told him, moving to stand up. "I hope that you'll be safe here and that everything goes as you hope with the..." she wiggled her fingers at her head to indicate his.

"Like I said, I have faith that it will. And don't worry about yourself, Steve and Sam will keep you safe."

"We'll see," she told him, giving a simple wave of goodbye as he picked up another rock and plunked it into the water.

* * *

**Wakanda - At The Villa**   
**Late The Next Morning**

Hanging out on the patio alone, Teagan tried to cautiously watch the rest of the group in the den talking with Steve. He and T'Challa had returned to the villa a short time ago after having left early this morning with Bucky. He had informed the group that Bucky was now in the cryo-chamber asleep and that the procedure had gone off without a hitch. Bucky was now where he felt safe from Hydra, or anyone else who wanted to control him.

Even after their talk last night, there was no way she would ever consider doing something like that. He must have a lot of trust in T'Challa and his guards if he felt safe enough to sleep like that.

Hearing the patio door open, she looked over to see Shuri walking out towards her carrying a backpack similar to what some of the others had. When she reached her, with a large grin Shuri placed it down on the short table in front of the couch she was sitting on before sitting in the chair next to her.

"What's that?" she asked.

"These are just a couple of things that I figured you might need until you can get settled at the safe house," Shuri told her.

"Things?" she didn't understand.

"Well, after talking to my brother, I know that you don't have any spare clothes," she was still smiling at her. "These should all fit you and since I know where you are going, they will be appropriate for the weather there this time of year."

Teagan stared at the bag not really believing what she was hearing.

"For me?" she had to ask.

Knowing they were leaving today, she had gone in search of the prison uniform to put back on since she was only borrowing the clothes she had been wearing. But the servant had informed her that it had been disposed of, making her have to wear the nice outfit she currently had on. She had been planning on asking Sam about what to change into so that she was not accused of trying to steal the garment.

"Only if you like them," Shuri was now smiling at her. "They're not much but at least you'll have something until you have a chance to go shopping for yourself."

Giving her head a shake, she started to say, "Oh, I can't do that, I don't have…"

But Shuri raised her hand for her to stop.

"There is also a considerable amount of cash funds in there that should last you for quite a while. Just a small way of trying to make up for what you've been through."

"I don't want your money," she firmly told her, hating the idea of having to take charity.

"Don't worry, it's not mine," Shuri's smile then turned a bit devious. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure they were still alone. "I hacked one of Hydra's older small accounts, just under twenty thousand US dollars, and had it zeroed out. I then ran it through a bank in Korea, exchanged the funds in Dubai, finally had the American cash sent here. It's untraceable and all yours."

Teagan didn't understand why she had done that for her or what to do to show her appreciation.

"Thank you," she finally managed to tell her.

"Just be careful out there and look out for Steve and Sam. Bucky was worried this morning about him going back out with the colonizers, scared that he was going to get himself caught."

"Watch out for Captain America?" she asked, remember how Bucky had asked similar last night. "I'm pretty sure that they're just going to dump me at the safe house until Natasha can do her thing with my records."

Shuri glanced over her shoulder at where the group was now standing and gathering up their own carry bags. She took it as the sign it was time to go.

"I'm sure that you'll have at least some kind of adventure," Shuri told her while grabbing the offered bag and holding it out for her to take. Taking it from her, she tossed it over her shoulder.

Shuri then did something unexpected.

She held out her hand for Teagan to shake.

Her eyes darted back and forth between the hand and eyes of the girl who did not look nervous at all with the offer.

"Are you sure?" she had to ask.

"Yes," Shuri nodded her head. Taking her hand, they exchanged a simple handshake. "It was nice to meet you Teagan."

Releasing each other, they turned towards the doors and found they had been being watched by Sam and T'Challa, both of whom had smiles of approval at the gesture.

* * *

**Over The Atlantic Ocean  
On The Quinjet**

So far their trip had been very quiet and uneventful, just how Sam had hoped that it would go. Teagan was across the jet from him, listening mostly to the others but not contributing to the conversations. It seemed that she was still a bit more cautious of them this morning than she had been yesterday. Maybe it had to do with the change in location.

They were about half way across the Atlantic when Clint asked Steve if he'd heard from Thor since he had left after the Ultron incident.

"No, and as far as I knew, neither had Tony," he admitted. "The last thing that he told us was that he was going to be looking into the Infinity Stones. He did not seem happy that four of them had shown up in the past few years."

"Four?" Clint asked him as he thought about something. "I know about three of them, but what is the fourth that he knew about?"

"The Power stone, but he only knew that it had been found somewhere else, not here on earth," Steve told him. "But we know that Vision has the Mind stone, and that Jane Foster had been possessed by the Reality stone for a short time before being hidden away. And then there is the Tesseract that Thor took back to Asgard with him."

"Tesseract?" Teagan's curious voice made all their heads turn towards her.

"You've heard of the Tesseract?" he asked her.

Seeing all eyes once again turned on her, she was hesitant before telling them,"Yeah."

He could already see that she was growing nervous as if being scrutinized.

"Teagan," he said getting her attention back on him. He had already noticed she did better in one-on-one conversations sometimes. "What do you know of it?"

"I was at the same base it was at for a while," she told them.

"What!?" Clint's voice was suddenly raised, now making all turn towards him. He stood from his seat, stepping over and crouching down before her. " _You_ were at the Dark Energy Mission facility in the Mojave Desert?"

Teagan began to shake her head in response, "I don't know _where_ I _actually_ was. To me, it was just another base like all the others. I was there to question scientists about the Tesseract and gain their loyalty to Hydra over Shield or NASA. Even if they weren't Hydra, they still passed along information to them unwillingly, thanks to me. They were commanded to share reports on their findings but then for forget doing so."

"So Hydra had their hands in almost everything it would seem," Nat told them, rolling her eyes a bit.

"Would you be able to guess about how long ago you were there or for how long?" Clint asked her.

"I would guess it was a couple of years ago for a few weeks," she told the interested group, but he could see her focusing more on Clint. "That was the only time I actually thought I was going to die."

"Why? What happened?" Sam asked her.

"Because of how Hydra got me out of there," she looked over at him. Looking back at Clint, "Something happened while I was sleeping in my cell. Alarms started going off, waking me up. There were lots of shouts and footsteps from the hallway. After a while, guards came into my cell and unchained me from the wall. I thought they might take the time to do the normal transportation ritual. Instead, they had brought in a large box with a Shield logo on it. A gag was already in place, along with my arms being bound and they forced me inside the box, locking it down."

Sam listened intently to her tale, but then his mind registered that Teagan said that she had been chained to a wall...and that she sounded as if that was normal.

"That _had_ to be the night that the Tesseract started going haywire and Loki showed up," Clint jumped in to supply a part of the story she didn't know about. "The base was ordered to be evacuated and there were so many boxes being loaded up that nobody would even notice one more."

"What happened next?" Steve asked her.

"I was carried out of the building and put into a vehicle. After we started moving, there was a deafening noise and the box was tossed about, maybe the entire vehicle. I think we might have crashed as the box rolled around before finally stopping. I don't know what exactly happened but it got quiet for a while. After a couple of minutes, I had a hard time breathing. That's when I realized the box wasn't letting in any air. I'm sure that I passed out because suddenly Keeling was there, slapping my face to get me to wake up."

"What a _charming_ man," Scott then stated with disdain.

"I was there that night," Clint then told Teagan. "Actually, I had been assigned to watch over things for a few weeks just before the Tesseract started acting up. I had no idea that you were even there."

"I think that was the point," she tried to joke.

For the rest of the flight, Sam moved to sit over next to her and they talked a bit more about her unique ordeals with Hydra. There had not been any other incidents like the one with the Tesseract. He could only imagine how scary it had to have been for her being locked in that dark box not knowing if anyone was going to get her out before she suffocated in there.

Every time she spoke of a specific incident with Keeling, he could hear her voice waver slightly with fear before turning to anger. There had been so many types of mental and physical abuse he had done to her, but Sam felt that there might be a bit more. Eventually, she admitted to him that Keeling's favorite word to describe her to anyone had been ' _tool_ '. He remembered how upset she had seemed at hearing Shuri use it the other morning when speaking about Bucky. He would let Steve know so maybe they could avoid the word for a while until they had more time to work through her issues with it.

Touching the Quinjet down in the field near Clint's house, there was no way for him to hide the smile at finally being home. He and Nat did a quick surveillance around the property and returned saying that none of their security measures had been tripped. Sam had figured as much otherwise they would have geared up for a fight.

"Want to come in and say hello?" Clint asked as the three of them grabbed up their bags.

"No. I'm sure Laura would just reprimand me for calling you away," Steve jokingly answered for the rest of them. "Besides, Scott is more than anxious to get home so I'm not going to make him wait any longer than he already has. We still have a couple of more hours flying ahead of us. "

Clint and Steve shook hands and Wanda gave Steve a hug. Nat just nodded her head at the two of them, knowing that she would be joining them in a few weeks. It was at one of her safe houses where they would be landing at tonight.

The trip to San Francisco was short compared to how long they had been cooped up inside this tin can. Scott exited with a smile and actually said that if they really needed him to give a call. They had landed just outside of the city and Scott had changed into his suit during the flight. Stepping onto the grassy park area, he waved at them before shrinking out of sight. Teagan gave a startled gasp at seeing his powers used again, finding it still as amazing as the first time. They had offered to get him closer to home but he said that he could find a ride and needed to check it out before revealing himself.

Since the jet was already cloaked, Sam decided to give them a small break.

"Teagan? Ready for the five cent tour?" Sam called out over his shoulder.

"The what?" Teagan asked coming to stand with her hand on the back of his flight chair.

"Take a look," he pointed out the window at the approaching prison island. "I'm sure that even in Ireland that you've heard of Alcatraz, right?"

"Yes, but I never knew it was so large," she said. "Why does it have so many little buildings?"

"That was for the guards and their families to live in back when it was an active prison. They had a shuttle boat that would pick the kids up in the morning and take them to a mainland school."

"How do you know this?" Steve now asked from his other side.

"Between going on missions, there's this thing called a vacation that a lot of people actually enjoy taking. Not everyone enjoys moving from one world ending event straight to another," he teased him and getting a chuckle out of Teagan. It was probably one of the first ones he'd ever heard her make...and he liked the sound of it.

"And here I was always thinking that they were a myth, smart aleck," Steve shot back at him.

"Think of it this way, Steve. I've been locked away for _how long_ and one of the first places he decides to show me is another prison," Teagan pointed out with some mirth in her voice.

Hearing her say that did make his stomach lurch knowing she was right. But he did feel her pat his shoulder so he didn't think she was actually upset with him.

"Well, that officially ends this tour," Sam said pulling the jet back towards the west. He did finish with a fly-under of the Golden Gate Bridge, pausing to watch a couple of workers currently repainting a section of it, suspended far above the cold, choppy water in harnesses.

Now, it was just the three of them for the next few hours heading back north-east to some small town in South Dakota. Nat had given him the coordinates of a house close to a small lake far outside the town. The nearest neighbor was just over five miles away, giving them plenty of open area and freedom to move around in. There was a small cluster of trees ringing the entire property, perfect for hiding the jet behind. They grabbed their bags and walked the short distance to the old house. It was the quintessential county farmhouse that looked suspiciously a lot like Clint's, only smaller.

"This is where we are staying?" she asked as they reached the front porch.

Looking around, Sam found there was not a lot to see, mostly open fields with a scattering of trees everywhere. The nearest road and driveway were dirt, with the closest paved one even further away than the neighbor.

"For a while at least," Steve told her as he lifted part of the siding to reveal a hidden hand-print scanner. Nat had inputted all three of their palms so they could access the house.

The inside was exactly what he would expect from being out here. Simple comfortable looking furniture, minimal extra items, but a nice television and dish setup that they had been told had a secure link to a private network that they could also access if they needed to chat with Nat and Clint.

"Too bad we're not closer to a bigger town, I could go for a pizza," Sam commented putting his bag down on the stairs.

"Maybe there's at least a place in town we could try to get one from tomorrow night," Steve said as he began a sweep of the ground floor.

Teagan was cautiously looking around everywhere, as if…

"Expecting someone to pop out from behind the sofa and yell 'surprise'?" Sam joked with her.

Getting a single, hard grunt from her, "No, more like 'hail Hydra.'"

He heard Steve's steps falter at her horrible words. He then appeared from the opposite side of the stairs that were located in the center of the house.

"Teagan, you are safe here. We all are. Nat would never send us somewhere she felt would have been compromised," Steve tried to reassure her.

"I know that _you_ feel that way, but… _I_ just can't. Not yet," she told him glaring right into his eyes.

Sam could see a bit of sadness growing in them knowing how Steve hated that she was being honest.

"Give it some time," Steve told her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Hydra is not what they used to be. I doubt there is even a single agent in all of South Dakota."

"Hell, there's hardly _anyone_ in South Dakota," Sam mumbled under his breath as he grabbed his bag to head upstairs. Turning back to her, "Come on, Teagan. Let's go get the _best_ bedrooms before Steve has a chance to claim them."

"Hey!" Steve called out from behind her as she quickly followed him with a smile. At least it seemed she wanted to have some fun.

At the top of the stairs, they found a large bathroom to be shared with two smaller bedrooms, each having a single bed in them. The third bedroom was just large enough for the double bed and had its own bath.

"You take this one," Sam indicated the larger one. "Steve and I can share a bath and this one will give you some privacy."

"Are you sure?" she asked looking into the room again.

"You need your own private space more than either of us do," he told her simply knowing that she would appreciate it more than he or Steve would. "I'll take this one so that if you need me all you have to do is hit the wall to get my attention. How does that sound?"

Teagan gave a light blush, making the speckling of freckles across her cheeks stand out a bit more.

Footsteps coming up the stairs drew their attentions away from each other as Steve approached.

"I'm going to do a walk around the immediate area so that I know what's out there. Want to join me Sam?"

"Yeah," he said tossing his bag onto the single bed next door. Pointing across the small hallway, "That's the worst room we could find, so it's yours."

Steve rolled his eyes at the comment but put his bag just inside the door.

"Can I walk too?" Teagan asked putting her own bag on the bed.

"Sure," Steve told her. "It's a good idea to know your surroundings just in case of an emergency."

"Do ya have a lot of emergencies?" she asked as they both followed Steve back down the steps.

"My entire life since meeting Steve has been one emergency after another," Sam told her, earning a groan from Steve. "It's my job to keep him out of trouble."

"Then why were _you_ the one in the prison cell?" Teagan asked getting a hearty laugh from Steve.

"Laugh it up now, ground-pounder, but trust me on this, Teagan. He can't keep himself from getting into trouble even when trying," Sam stated pulling the front door closed behind them as they headed into the yard to look around their new temporary home.

* * *

**Somewhere in South Dakota  
Natasha's Safe House**

Later that night, all three of them were sitting at the table eating the meals-from-a-bag that Nat had plenty of stocked away in the pantry. There was also cases of bottled water. If they really wanted to keep eating this stuff, they could spend weeks here without leaving. Luckily none of them felt that way as they ate.

"We have _got_ to go into town tomorrow and get some _real_ food," Sam commented as he grimaced with each bite. "I thought that when I got out of the military that I would be free from eating these nasty things."

"Trust me, these are not that bad compared to some of the stuff we ate before and during the war," Steve took another bite of his second packet. She had learned that his body required a bit more food than normal people.

"Teagan, _you_ agree with me, don't you?" Sam asked.

"I've had worse," she told him, taking a bite of the chicken pasta packet, "but it is better than a protein liquid being unwillingly shoved through a tube up your nose and down your throat."

Sam actually looked a bit pale at the comment, his eyes going wide at not having thought about what he was asking but she guessed that she had not put enough of a lighter tone into her words.

"Sam, relax. I was trying to joke with you," she told him.

He seemed to visibly relax at hearing that, saying, "We _really_ need to practice on your humor then, starting tomorrow."

"The two of you can see about going grocery shopping tomorrow," Steve said. "I'm not going to take the chance of being spotted. My face has been all over the news since Berlin."

"How safe is it out there really?" a few moments later Teagan asked, stopping the two of them from eating.

"You have nothing to worry about," Steve told her with all sincerity, putting his meal on the table. "Your image has never been released to the public and so there is nobody actively looking for you. Even if Ross wants to search for you, to put out a notification he'll have to admit to illegally holding you on the Raft, which would get him into trouble big time. And if he does that, Nat's already set up a program to notify us. We'll be ahead of him at every turn. You will never see the Raft again."

"You sound very confident about that," she told him.

"Steve always sounds like that but the best part is that he means it," Sam told her, making Steve blush a bit with the praise. "Nat told me that the nearest town is fairly small but there is a larger one just a bit further away. Being closer to the interstate, they are used to lots of people passing through. We'll head there first."

After a full day of traveling and then having a full stomach, she decided that a hot bath then heading to bed early sounded wonderful. The short walk around the property with them had tired her out more than she was willing to admit, but she was trying to hide it so she didn't seem so weak to them. While Sam and Steve chatted about trying to work out a jogging path for them to use in the morning, she excused herself telling them of her plan.

Since the house had a small layer of dust covering most items, she took a moment to give the bath tub a quick scrub before filling it. Sitting in the hot water, she closed her eyes and tried to remember the last time she had a bath. Even at the villa there was only a shower. Having this bathroom all to herself, as Sam had suggested, was indeed nice. She bent her knees and let her body slip all the way under the water.

Running her hands over her submerged head, she felt the short hair barely gliding through the water. When she used to do this years ago, her long red hair floated everywhere. Even after just spending a few days with Sam and the others, she no longer feared that even if they locked her back up that they would not chop off her hair.

Drying off and standing in front of the mirror, she began to run her hands through the wet, short strands. The longest areas were probably the length of her fingers and the slight curl that had always been there still was. But there was no mistaking that her hair had not been properly kept up with for a while.

Maybe tomorrow while she and Sam were in town she might be able to do something about that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ground pounder - slang term for enlisted Army guys used to insult them.   
> I know that a lot of you were curious as to Teagan's ability when it came to helping Bucky. I hope that this answered your questions. I wanted the story to fit into the space between the movies, and my reasoning helped with that. The next few chapters will be them getting to know each other with a bit of a hiccup.


	13. A Trip To Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Teagan will speak a bit of the Irish/Gaelic language in this chapter. Definitions are at the bottom, but you'll get their context in the scene. If you know a term or phrase is not correct, please let me know and I'll fix it.

**South Dakota - Nearby Larger Town**   
**Late The Next Morning**

Slowing the small, nondescript truck down, Sam looked around the large town they had just arrived in. It had taken them about twenty minutes to drive here down one of the longest, straightest, most boring roads he had ever had the pleasure to have been on. There was nothing but flat open fields for as far as the eye could see. There was nowhere for a police officer to hide for a speed trap, he had noted. The only thing that broke the landscape up were small clusters of trees that would surround houses to give them a bit of privacy, just as their own safe house's did.

Glancing over, he saw that Teagan's eyes were darting around as if trying to take in every single face, worry lines creasing her brow, almost as if she were looking for someone. Then it dawned on him.

She was searching for Keeling.

"You're not going to find him here," he told her turning onto the main street. Here there were lots of different types of shops with a scattering of people walking around. None of them even seemed interested in them as they drove past.

"Can'na hurt to look," she told him, her accent coming out a bit. "Especially since I have no idea where his base is."

The small town looked like it had not chanced since the 1980's, giving it a quaint, homey feel...like nobody was actually a stranger. Just down the street, he could see a large park making up the town's center. Large oak trees were everywhere with benches under them to sit on and just watch people pass by. There was only two traffic lights on the main road, and limited cars driving around. It was such a nice place that there was no way Hydra had ever even stepped foot close to here. He hoped.

Pulling into a small parking lot for a grocery market, Sam grabbed the baseball cap he had found hanging near the back door. It was the best disguise he was going to get. Getting out, he looked around just to make sure that everything was still good. Teagan's worry had him a bit paranoid now, but he felt secure in his original assessment that they were safe.

Then he saw her expression brighten as she spotted something.

"Sam," Teagan got his attention as they both stepped onto the sidewalk. "There's something that I want to do before we get groceries. Is that all right?"

"Of course," he told her as he looked towards the business she was staring at. "You want to see if that salon can fix your hair, don't you?"

Teagan bit her lower lip as she began to eagerly nod her head. She had put on a bandana over her hair this morning, almost reminding him of a cancer patient sometimes would look. He knew that she was just trying to cover the shapeless mess that Ross had left her with.

Reaching into his back pocket, Sam drew out his wallet, but Teagan got his attention, "I already have some money."

"You do?" he asked a bit surprised.

"Yeah," she said, and he saw her shoulders tense up some. "Shuri did something with some Hydra funds and gave me a lot of cash that is untraceable."

Sam smiled, guessing he knew what had happened.

"She gave it to you in the backpack right before we left yesterday, didn't she?"

"Yeah," Teagan sounded hesitant. "Is that alright?"

"Yes, it's fine that you have your own money to do or get whatever you want," he told her sure that he understood her worry. "I was just going to give you some of the emergency funds that we have access to."

Hearing that she was allowed to keep the money for herself, Teagan calmed back down.

"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked wondering if she would be alright to be alone for that long with strangers. This was her first real outing.

"Maybe, just at first," she told him as they started to walk towards the salon. "But if they can seat me, then I should be fine for a while."

It sounded to him as if she was having very similar thoughts to his own. She had always been around someone except for at night while alone in her room. At least she was willing to try, and that was a good step forward.

Stepping inside the small salon, there was only one other older woman in the waiting area. The only stylist he could see stepped away from her client after a few seconds to meet them at the counter.

"What can I help you with, dear?" she asked Teagan, eyeing the scarf.

"I…ah…want to see if someone…one of you…could help me with a problem," she sounded a bit unsure of herself as her hand drifted to the scarf, but the lady only smiled.

"What have you got under there?" she asked with a knowing grin. "Home perm gone bad?"

"No," Teagan looked over at him, as if needing help. Then he caught on that she couldn't tell them what had really happened to her hair, but she also had not thought of a story for it in case she was asked.

"We've been traveling for the past few months," he stepped into help her, "and she hasn't had a chance to take care of her hair since she shaved it on a dare."

The shock on the woman's face was very noticeable, and he wondered if she had also considered the cancer excuse at hearing that her head had been shaved.

"Can I get a quick look at what we have to work with?" she asked.

Teagan reached up and worked at the knot holding the scarf tight. Once it was free, the stylist sucked in a breath, shocked at the horrible shape of the exposed hair. With her arms up, he also saw her noticing Teagan's tattoos, a slight smile then appeared.

"What exactly did you want to do with it? Pixie cut?"

"Maybe, I'm not too sure what could be done with it so I'm open to suggestions," Teagan admitted. "Can you fix it?"

There was now a prominent smile on her face, "No, _but,_ I have the perfect person who _can_."

She quickly headed into a back room, making the two of them wonder what was going on. A few seconds later, she reappeared followed by another woman, unlike anyone he had thought to find out here in the middle of nowhere.

The young girl eyeing Teagan had what he thought were dreads in her hair, but as she drew closer he could see they were actually tight hanging twisted spirals. The top of her head was blond while the bottom half was a light pink. She had a lip piercing as well as a nose ring. Her arms were covered with tattoos of black and white flowers and patterns, from her shoulder to wrist. Her eyes were done up in purples and black makeup. Glancing down, he found the pink combat boots he expected to find.

Glancing at Teagan, he could see a wide smile appear on her face.

"I'm Antoinette," she said coming around the counter with a grin, reaching out to take Tegan's hand. "Looks like we are going to be having some fun."

Sam felt more hesitant to let Teagan go to the chair than she was. He sat in a free chair in the waiting area as he watched the two of them chatted and compared tattoos. Then they both began to run hands through her hair, but he couldn't hear what they were talking about.

Glancing over at the older lady that was here before them, he realized what might have happened, "I'm sorry. Did we cut in front of you?"

She looked up from the magazine in her hands, saw Teagan and Antoinette, and began to shake her head.

"No, I only let Betty do my hair," she pointed to the lady that had helped them when they arrived. "Antoinette's a bit too much for me to handle. Not that she's ain't a good person, but she likes…funky hairstyles."

Hearing that, Sam looked back over to where Teagan was sitting. She looked happier right now than he had seen her over the past few days. It seemed that she might have found a kindred spirit in Antoinette.

Seeing the stylist heading to the back room for something, he quickly made his way over to Teagan.

"Think you'll be fine if I head across the street to the hardware store for a few items?" he asked as she continued to play with her hair.

Nodding, she smiled at his reflection.

"I think so."

"Then I'll head on over there and grab a few things," he pointed at the store through the front windows. "If you get done first, you can either come find me, or wait in here if you don't want to go outside alone."

"Alright. I'll decide what to do once we're done."

Sam nodded and turned to head away, hoping that she did fine being alone.

The store was a smaller family-run one but it was a good size considering that it may be the closest one around for many miles. It didn't take him long to gather up the few supplies that they needed…light bulbs, nails for a few loose floor boards on the porches, and a hammer. But knowing that Teagan would not be ready yet, he began to wander down the aisles, taking a mental stock of the items just in case they needed something.

"Having trouble finding an item?" an older gentleman came over to help him as Sam realized he'd been staring at sandpaper for about 5 minutes.

"No," he glanced at the front of the store out the window. He could just make out the front of the salon and knew that if Teagan needed him, that he would know. "I'm waiting on a friend while she gets her hair cut."

"Then you're probably going to be here a while," he grinned while patting Sam's shoulder. "Let me show you where all the fellas hide out while waiting for their gals."

Sam didn't want to point out that Teagan wasn't his gal but that would probably bring on more questions that he didn't have answers for.

Leading Sam back towards the front of the store, he saw the wooden checker board set up on an old barrel with two chairs across from each other.

They rang up the few items he had selected before both of them took a seat at the board. For the next twenty minutes, Sam and Jonathan, the store's owner, sat and played checkers while he kept an eye on the salon's door. Seeing it finally open and catching sight of red hair, he knew that Teagan was finally finished.

Sam pointed out that his wait was over and said his goodbyes. Making his way across the street, he was stopped in his tracks about half-way by the glowing female who had emerged from the salon.

Teagan was glancing around, and he got a good look at her new hair style. The most notable change was that from an inch above her ears all the way behind her head had been shaven down to almost nothing. The top was already a few inches in length but it had been shaped, cut, and styled so that chunky tendrils of red hair fell all around her head. It was a bit curlier than it had been this morning, and he wondered if it was natural. Overall the new style was stunning and he really liked how she looked with it.

He somehow felt that the bold style was a reflection of the personality that had been squashed by Keeling and Ross for so long.

Seeing him standing still in the lane of the road, Teagan made her way towards him and then pulled him between the parked cars out of the not-very-busy street.

"What do you think?" she asked with a genuine smile on her face.

He could see that she really liked it too.

"Very unique. It looks good on you," he told her as they made their way to the truck. "I am a bit surprised that you shaved the bottom again though."

"But _this time_ it was because _I_ wanted to," she told him, running her hand over the smooth area.

"Are the curls real?" he opened the truck to put the small bag inside the cab.

"Yes, but Toni was able to use this gel that helped to bring them out."

"Toni?" he asked. "Sounds like the two of you hit it off."

"She reminds me of my friends from back home," she told him, making him curious. "Also, my cousin Quinn is a bit of a hooligan, and so he dated punk girls."

"Really? I kind of pictured you with a lot of older men that looked like sailors hanging out in the pub."

"Trust me, there were a plenty of them around, but me music group was made up of younger musicians. We were learning the older songs so that we can eventually pass them along. When I first got taken, I had my hair cut into a Mohawk and wore it as a long braid."

Sam then recalled the picture from her Hydra file when she was first taken. Her hair had been loose, not braided, and it fell oddly around her face. Not understanding what he had been looking at, knowing it was a Mohawk made a lot of sense now.

As they walked down the sidewalk, something else then caught her eye.

"Sam, could I go in there for a minute?" she asked pointing at a second-hand clothing store.

"Sure," he said looking around and not finding another clothing store that sold new ones nearby. "Do you want to ride around and try to find a place that sells new items?"

"No," she told him. "Wearing something with a bit of ware might help to make me not stand out."

Lifting his hand, he let his fingers slide around one of the curls hanging over her ears, finding it as soft as he imagined it to be.

"Isn't _this_ a bit _opposite_ of that?"

"If I need a disguise, I can always put a ball cap on," she pointed out as they headed inside the store. While nudging his side, "Then I'll look just like you."

"Sure, we'll practically be _twins_ ," he said rolling his eyes and earning a laugh from her.

He hoped that Teagan was able to keep the happy feeling she was exuding right now. For the first time, she didn't look like anything could worry or frighten her.

* * *

"What took the two of you so long?" Steve asked as he walked out the back door after hearing the truck finally pulling back up to the house. By the start of the second hour of them being gone, he had started to think that maybe he should have headed out with the two of them, even if he had sat in the vehicle so he wouldn't be spotted. That way, if they needed him, he would have been close by.

Sam had already gotten out and was lowering the tailgate.

"Just a bit of extra shopping," he was told as the passenger door opened up.

Seeing Teagan as she exited the truck, he stopped in his tracks.

"That's…not anything that I was expecting," he managed to say looking at the strange haircut.

Somehow, with the carefree smile she now had, it fit her.

"I had to do _something_ with that mess that Ross left me with," Teagan told him, sounding much happier than she has been.

"It looks nice, definitely much better than it did," he told her as they all began to gather the bags of food. He did notice a few extra ones of clothing, guessing that they were Teagan's.

They put away the groceries before he decided to let them know about the information that Nat had contacted him while they were gone. He stood off to lean on the counter as he asked Teagan to take a seat for a moment. She was about to become disappointed.

"Nat contacted me while you were gone," he started. "Her search for Keeling came back with a bit of bad news."

Teagan's eyes widened a bit but it was Sam who finally asked, "What did she find?"

"Unfortunately, it was what she didn't find. Keeling was _not_ one of the Hydra agents captured with their fall."

Her entire body seemed to collapse in on itself as she absorbed what could only be devastating news to her. The single man that had caused her so much pain was still somewhere out there.

"Is there _any_ sign of him?" Sam asked, making her look over at him. "Any way that we can help one of the authorities get their hands on him?"

Steve hated that he could only continue with the bad news as he shook his head.

"I asked Nat the same thing and somehow he's managed to stay off all radars. There's not been any sign of him since D.C."

"Is it possible that he's dead?" Teagan's voice had just a bit of hopefulness.

"I don't think so," he told her. "All of the bodies recovered from the Triskelion after Project Insight failed were identified. The only other possibility would be that Keeling wasn't his real name, and that he went by a different one. Did you ever hear someone call him by anything else?"

She shook her head, "No, never."

Picking up the tablet from behind him, he asked, "Can I show you a picture of him, just to make sure that the one Nat was able to find is correct?"

Now her entire body tensed up at just the idea. Sam moved from where he had been standing near the sink so that he was right behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"It's just a picture, but we need to know that it's really him and what he looks like so that we can be on the ready…just in case," he told her.

Glancing over her shoulder at Sam, she then turned back to him and nodded in approval. Turning the device on, he pulled up the photo she had sent over, along with the Project Cherry Tree file that Nat had found dumped online. From what she found, there was a lot more to what Teagan had been through than they had so far learned from her. But after hearing from Nat about a few other video clips of her 'training', things they had not heard about in Wakanda, it was understandable that she would not want to speak about them.

Turning it for her to see, the expression on her face told Steve that it was indeed Keeling. Sam was intently staring at the shot, as if trying to memorize the face. Her hands began to visibly shake so she balled them together and put them into her lap to stop the involuntary action of punching the screen's image of him. He turned the tablet away from her so she didn't have to see the man anymore.

"I take your reaction to mean that _was_ Keeling. I'll ask Nat to put a more active trace out on him, that way if he does turn up, then we can see about putting him into his own cell for a very long time," he told her, bringing out a slight smile from her. "Since he was a project head for Hydra, maybe even the Raft."

"You can do that?" she asked.

"I don't see why we should let him miss any of Ross' hospitality," Steve told her with a smile. "I'll let you know if Nat does get a hit on his location."

"Thanks," she told him while standing up and grabbing the bags of clothes she had gotten earlier. "I'm going to go put these up."

"Still want to go for that walk to the pond later?" Sam asked her.

She nodded as she went towards the stairs, and he guessed that she was lost in her own thoughts right now.

He waited until he heard her bedroom door shut before turning to Sam.

"How do you think she really is?" he asked.

Sam tiled his head to the side and gave a heavy sigh.

"I think if Keeling had been captured, or even better, dead, then she would be a lot happier."

"There was a lot more in the project file that that Nat uncoded which you might want to go through. She only told me a bit before I needed her to stop," he admitted, bringing Sam's eyes to his.

"I meant to try to get to it on the flight here but never got around to it. Is it worse than that training she told us all about the other day?"

Steve could only nod and hoped that Sam was able to help her.

"You heard her crying during the night, right?" he asked, getting a nod from Sam.

"Since it wasn't too long after we went to bed, I think the fear of being in a new place got to her a bit. It only lasted a few minutes, but just as I was about to go and talk with her, she calmed down and went to sleep," Sam told him while looking over the heads to where her room was. "But today, I noticed in the grocery store that she got winded and tired about half way through it, just like she did yesterday with our walk around the place. She's not had a lot of exercise for the past decade and I think that she needs to start walking around the property to help her body get used to moving again. That's why I suggested a walk to the pond on the ride back here."

"That's a good idea. We need to watch that we don't push her too hard at first. In a strange way, her frailness reminds me of how I was before the serum. I could only do so much before needing a break."

"Even if she is as weak as you were, I'm sure she's a lot prettier now than you were or will ever be," Sam joked with him while walking into the den, but he didn't miss the tone in his voice talking about Teagan.

Something that Steve had never heard in Sam's voice before.

* * *

**The Safe House  
Three Days Later**

Returning from their afternoon run, Sam and Steve both stopped at the screened backdoor when the wonderful scent of the meal Teagan was cooking reached them. She had been worried since it had been so long, but if the smell was any indication, she didn't have anything to fear. He looked over at Steve whose eyes had a strange foreignness to them.

"Are you alright?" he asked Steve as they slowly stepped further into the house.

"I know this smell," he was letting his nose guide him over to the large covered pot sitting on the stove top. Lifting up the lid, Steve closed his eyes as he deeply inhaled. "It's been so long…"

"Get out o' there," Teagan's stern Irish voice reached them as she came in from the den. "It still needs ta simmer for another hour."

"What is it?" Sam asked peeking over Steve's shoulder to try and get a look.

"Beef and Guinness Stew," she informed him, taking the lid out of Steve's hand and putting it back on the pot. "Now leave it alone."

"You put beer in the stew?" he had to make sure he'd heard correctly, as he opened the fridge for a bottle of water, tossing one to Steve.

"Guinness stout," she told him, "not that weak piss-water that you make here in America and call beer."

Sam grinned at hearing a bit of Teagan's original personality trying to come through with her crude humor. Even Steve chuckled at her.

"So your mother used to give you beer stew as a boy?" he then asked Steve.

"I guess so," he had a large smile on his face, probably remembering her.

"Maybe she was trying to knock you out so you'd stop getting into alley fights."

Giving a firm huff, "I see that you and Bucky talked at some point," Steve grumbled but with mirth in his tone.

"How was the run?" she asked walking into the den.

The television was on one of the news channels that the satellite picked up. Sam had a feeling that it was more than a passing interest. It would definitely be the ' _luck of the Irish_ ' if Teagan just happened to spot Keeling during a broadcast.

"He's getting better," Steve commented before heading upstairs for a shower. Calling back at them, "Maybe one day, he might _almost_ keep up."

"Very funny!" he yelled at the disappearing back. Jerking his thumb in Steve's direction, "He shortened the route by half so that he could lap me twice as much."

The giggle Teagan gave made a warm feeling emerge in him, just from knowing that she was doing better. He still heard her crying late at night, but during the day around them, she didn't seem to have any real problems so far. Hopefully it stayed that way, but Sam knew better. He'd seen it first hand back in Washington. He would just have to keep an eye on her.

"Why even _try_ to keep up?" she asked him while picking up the remote to turn the volume up before coming to stand back in the kitchen.

"Why not?" he asked knowing that she was still upset at her own stamina after the past few days. "Besides, I can't give him the satisfaction of quitting. I'd never hear the end of it."

For the past couple of evenings, the two of them had taken to walking around the property to try and help build up her strength. The outlying wire fence gave the house a five acre yard for them to travel. But by about half way each time, she had to stop for a while before heading back to the house. Each day they managed to make it just a bit more, but it would still take another week before he guessed she could make the entire lap.

Teagan headed to the refrigerator and began to remove a mass of vegetables, guessing they were for a salad. Finishing off the water, he tossed the bottle into the garbage. Feeling more beads of sweat starting to run down his face, Sam lifted the hem of his shirt and wiped the remaining moisture from his forehead. Dropping it back down, his eyes met with Teagan's who were focused on him in a strange way, her mouth slight parted as if she had been about to speak then stopped.

Clearing her throat, "Why don't you use my shower instead of waiting for Steve to finish?" her eyes darted from him to sorting through the vegetables.

"You wouldn't mind?"

"Of course not," but he noticed that she was no longer making eye contact with him, instead intently focusing her attention the items on the counter.

It almost looked like her face had reddened just slightly, her freckles slightly more pronounced.

"Thanks. I won't be long then," he told her before heading upstairs.

After hurriedly gathering this things, he took a quick shower looking forward to the upcoming meal that had smelled so good. They had all agreed that they should rotate who would cook each night. So far, Steve had cooked hot dogs on the grill the first night and Sam had treated them to his mother's meatloaf last night. Teagan had been a bit nervous yesterday as tonight would be her first time cooking in such a long time. But it looked like Steve was already a fan of hers. Considering the fact that she and Steve's own mom had grown up in Ireland, it made since that they had both learned some of the same recipes. Steve would probably be looking forward to her next cooking night.

Looking through his clean clothes, Sam realized that he had somehow forgotten to grab underwear. Not wanting to go commando, he wrapped the towel around his waist and opened the bathroom door to head to his bedroom...

Only to find Teagan standing at her nightstand.

"Sorry," she told him as he noticed her cheeks blushing to a lovely dark pink. He then saw that she was holding a paper towel around her left hand. There was a small red stain growing larger. "I was just looking for the elastoplast I remember seeing somewhere around here."

"Elastoplast?" he asked not understanding the term.

Teagan bit her lip as she sought out the term, "A bandage."

"What happened?" he asked crossing the room to her side, his current attire of a single item forgotten.

Taking her hand in his, he removed the paper towel to find a small cut steadily bleeding on her left middle finger.

"I was trying to cut up cucumbers for a pub salad and the knife slipped, that's all," she told him as he led her back into the bathroom. Theirs was stocked with medical supplies for much more significant wounds and he was sure that hers would be too.

Opening up the bottom cabinets, there were enough supplies for a field medical tent. He silently thanked Nat's overly cautious ways...or for her, maybe for her they were normal necessities.

"Are your hands still hurting or bothering you?" he was concerned the injections from Wakanda might not have been as effective and she hadn't mentioned it.

"No, it's not that. It's just that I haven't had to do anything like that in a long while and I was a bit clumsy while chopping."

"Sit," he pointed at the toilet lid while he took out alcohol, antibiotic ointment, and a Band-Aid.

She sat before starting to complain.

"Sam, it's just a small cut," she told him as he began to wipe a cotton ball with the alcohol on it over the area.

"There's no telling how dirty those knives are," he told her as she winced from the sting.

In a heavily argumentative accent, "Are ya' suggesting that I'd cook with dirty…"

"No, that's not what I meant," he cut her off, smiling at how cute she looked when angered. "I've just learned to be cautious about infections from when I was out in the field."

Giving a sigh at his answer in understanding, she sat there letting him finish up before wrapping the bandage around her finger.

"How's that?" he asked proudly.

Teagan positioned her hand so that her finger was extended as she examined his handy work.

"Not too bad…see," she then held it up so that she was flipping him off.

"Adorable," he smirked at her, earning him a cute smile. Offering his hand, "Come on."

Helping her to stand, they found themselves holding hands, standing very close to each other in the small space, and he suddenly became very aware of what he was wearing. He could feel a hint of her body's heat as he stared into those green eyes which he really liked looking at. Both of them being barefoot, he noticed how Teagan was almost as tall as he was, just slightly shorter. There was something nice about just standing there with her, wanting to count each of the freckles that cross from cheek to cheek over her nose.

It took a moment for him to realize that he was caressing her injured hand in his.

The smile that she was giving him suddenly began to fall, and he saw alarm quickly take her over.

As the green of her eyes began to glow and sparkle, she demandingly whispered, " _Let me go_."

Sam instantly dropped her hand as if he had been holding hot coals.

Teagan then stepped back from him, towards the tub. There was a fear on her face like he'd never seen before. It took a few seconds for him to realize that she had used her powers on him.

"Teagan, are you alright?" he asked her, trying to keep his voice calm and level. "I didn't mean..."

"No, I...níor chiallaigh mé. I shouldn't have done that to you. Tá brón orm," she cut off his apology then pushed past him to leave the room, her footsteps pounding downward on the stairs.

Heading into his room, he threw on the first things he could lay his hands on. He had no idea what to say to her. Something about the two of them standing there together had scared her and he was almost sure that it was not actually him. It had to be something from her time with Hydra. Ross didn't frighten her that much, meaning it had to have been Keeling.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he couldn't spot Teagan in the kitchen, only Steve.

"Sam, did something happen?" Steve's firm voice stopped him as he moved from the empty kitchen towards the den looking for her.

"Why?" he asked stopping in his tracks, turning around to face him.

"Teagan just ran through here crying and went straight out the door," he told him, pointing his fingers to the front of the house.

Sam made his way to one of the front windows and was able to spot her running barefoot almost to the closest grouping of trees.

"Sam?"

He then found that he had been ignoring Steve calls to him while watching Teagan until she disappeared inside, hiding from view.

"Sorry," he told him turning around to face him, but not willing to leave the window where he could keep looking out for her. "Teagan cut her finger and came to her room for a bandage. She had let me use her shower. I opened the bathroom door only in my towel and took her into it to clean up the cut. When I helped her stand up after we were done, holding her hand, we…uh, might have _almost_ had a moment. Or at least I did."

Steve's head dropped just a hint without breaking eye contact with him. Was that a slight smile he saw appear?

"And?"

He gave a heavy sigh.

"Then she used her powers on me so that I would _stop_ holding her hand."

Steve's expression changed a bit but it was really unreadable. It was not exactly anger, but not sadness either.

"Did she hurt you?"

"No, absolutely not!" he firmly stated. "I think that it was just our physical closeness that frightened her. That's all. I would never…"

Steve instantly raised his hand to stop him from finishing that sentence.

"I know that, and I would never suggest that you could," he told him, making him feel a bit better. "She's been through a lot. And…I'm worried from her reaction that there might be… _more_ that may or may not be in her file."

Sam felt his entire body chill as he let Steve's possible meaning sink in. Sexual abuse of some form. He had been hesitating to consider it until now. To get through her file, he could only stand to read a little bit at a time due to it being so disturbing at times. There could easily be more that he had yet to read.

"I haven't had a real chance to get all the way through her Hydra file yet. Do you think…" he couldn't finish.

"The fact that she ran out of here crying tells me that something big upset her. And even without having been around a lot of dames, I know _that reaction_ ," he nodded in Teagan's direction, "is _not_ just from you holding her hand."

Walking to the door, Sam called over his shoulder, "We'll be back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Teagan's haircut, Google "Merida Brave short hair" and one of the first pictures shows her with a shaved lower head while having longer top curls. This was the inspiration for Teagan, just add a bit more tendrils hanging.
> 
> Translations from Irish / Gaelic - I'm using Google Translate so please bare with any errors that it gives me. If you find an error, let me know and I'll change it.
> 
> níor chiallaigh mé - I didn't mean to
> 
> Tá brón orm - I'm sorry


	14. A Calming Talk and Bad Dreams

**South Dakota Safe House**  
**Moments Later**

Teagan sat underneath the willow tree that was at the edge of the tree thicket that kept the house safely obscured. In her panic at the realization of what she had done, using her powers on Sam, running from the house...escaping...had been her only thoughts. But now that the was alone and hidden from sight, the past few minutes came rushing back to her.

How could she have done that to Sam? He was probably so mad at her.

Had badly had she messed up? Would he tell Steve that she couldn't be trusted and needed to be put back in a cell?

There was no way that she could go back into the dark. If she did, Teagan didn't think she would last long. Even on the Raft, she knew that eventually the guards would come with Ross' offer again. But Steve and Sam? They didn't want to use her like he had, so for them, they could just make her disappear.

She needed to formulate an escape plan before it was too late. It was just the two of them. When they came after her to lock her away, she might have a chance to get free from them using her powers. She had the money Shuri had given her. She could take the truck and just drive. It had been years since she'd driven but there was no way to get anywhere nearby without a vehicle. They were too far from everything.

Why had she panicked like that at just a simple, nice touch?

Sam had never shown any fear at touching her, but that was probably now over. Lifting her hand to look at it, she was still able to feel the ghost of Sam's warm touch on her skin. Feeling Sam holding her hand, running his fingers gently across it had reminded her of the last time anyone had done so, back during high school. It had been so nice as she began to recognize the distant squashed feeling as it started to grow. Then considering the way he had been looking at her, a genuine affection towards her that she'd never really had before. But how could he or anyone even have feelings for her after…

It had been so long since she had felt anything like the warmness that had started in her chest that it took a few moments for Keeling's image to creep into her thoughts. Reminding her of all the horrible times he had abused her throughout the long years. She had quickly learned the meaning behind the void of emotion in his eyes when he stepped into her cell, what was going to happen no matter how much she fought and screamed for help. To just give in and submit as he stood behind her and pinned her in his painful grasp, to allow him to touch her.

The feeling of his cold hands as he held her down. But they were nothing like Sam's, which were warm and gentle.

Hell…the two of them had absolutely nothing in common. And yet, her mind had conjured up Keeling.

Knowing that Sam and some of the others had probably read her project file, she guessed that Keeling never mentioned what he did to her once she was back in her cell. Why would he? She knew that others inside of Hydra were aware of what he liked to do with her but even they had not tried to stop him. At least he had never passed her around, probably afraid that a guard would be careless and somehow give her the chance to demand her freedom. She still didn't understand how she'd never become pregnant unless he'd done something to her body. With all the painful medical procedures over the years, there was no telling.

Drawing her legs up, she wrapped her arms around them, trying to become small and invisible just like she used to do when she was hoping that Keeling would forget about her for just a bit longer. Maybe if she hid out here for a few hours alone…

"Teagan," Sam's calm voice was only a few feet away.

Hearing him already so close, it startled her so that she backed away from the direction he had approached from. It was too late to run.

Quickly glaring through the hanging limbs over her shoulder, she wanted to make sure that Steve had not snuck up from behind her. Were they already here to lock her up?

The leafy tree limbs parted like dangling beads in a doorway as Sam slowly and carefully invaded her private hiding space. She didn't see any sign of her restraints in his hands and there was still no sign of Steve nearby.

"Teagan, it's only me," he said crouching down only an arm's length away from her. If she needed to, she could easily reach him. "Are you alright?"

She could only stare into his eyes with the strange question lingering in the air.

"Me? Alright?" she shook her head, not understanding.

"You took off pretty fast back there. And I know that _something_ frightened the hell out of you, but I _really hope_ that it wasn't actually _me_. I also didn't get a chance to apologize to you."

The possible meaning of what Sam was saying continued to elude her.

"Why would you need to apologize to me after commanding you the way that I did?" she told him as panic of a possible future began to overtake her.

Locked back in the chains, a dark cell, screaming for help that would never come. Ragged breaths heaved in her chest surrounding her pounding heart. Her body tensed up, drawing in on itself, trying to seem as insignificant as possible. The words began to spill out faster than her mind could keep up.

"I'm so sorry…please don't lock me up again…I'll behave…I didn't mean to...I'll obey…I wasn't thinking…I promise never to touch you again just _please_ don't lock me up in the _dark_ again."

There was no way to stop the flood of tears that began to spill as her voice cracked behind choked sobs of fear.

* * *

Sam was instantly next to Teagan on the ground, carefully pulling her into an embrace as he began to gently rock her. Even though she had just been worried about touching him, she never tried to draw away from him in fear. It seemed that even with the panic attack she was experiencing that she was letting him try and calm her down.

Or maybe she was just trying to not get into any more trouble, as she saw it. Hearing the pleading sound of fear in her voice with the troubling words coming from her hurt him on the inside. He thought that by now she at least trusted them enough to know them better than that.

"You are _not_ in trouble and we would _never_ lock you in a dark cell, no matter _what_ you've done," he informed her between her sobs. He felt her entire body shaking with fear. This was the first time she had experience anything of this magnitude. All of her previous crying episodes were due to nightmares about her past, not anything relating to a current event. She needed to be able to see past what had happened so that it no longer worried her. "I'm not angry at what you did. It was an involuntary accident. You were frightened and for you, using your powers is a natural response. I can't fault you for that. And neither does Steve."

Between sobs, "I _wasn't_ trying to hurt you…", stuck on that part.

Releasing her enough so that he was able to use his hand to lift her face so that she could see his, "Teagan, I _know_. And you _didn't_ hurt me. I've _never_ worried about that and I _never_ thought that you would."

Her eyes were red and swollen as they darted around looking for something.

"What is it?" he asked glancing at the surrounding area in case she had heard something he had not. He released her in case he needed to move if someone was approaching.

"Steve…he's not with you, waiting to…"

"Waiting to what?"

"Put my restraints on me."

He hated what all she had been through for that to be a fear. Even only having been with them a short time Sam had hoped that she felt at least relaxed enough around them to know that they wouldn't do that to her.

But he had to remind himself that she was frightened and not thinking clearly.

Shaking his head, "Teagan, we _don't have_ your restraints. They got _tossed away_ back in Wakanda. We don't have _any_ type of restraints to use on you."

The look of disbelief on her face would almost be comical if not for the true fear she'd had moments ago.

"Why not? What about when I mess up again? Next time…"

" _If_ there is a next time, then we'll talk through it _just_ like we are doing right now," he told her hoping to calm her down. "A week ago, you were locked in a cell, and harshly restrained in a way that nobody ever should be as an unnecessary punishment. Neither I nor Steve expect you to just suddenly readjust to any type of normal life without having a few setbacks. And we are _not_ going to be like Ross, or Keeling, and punish you even if they do happen."

He visible saw her shudder at hearing Keeling's name and he wondered how much of her current fear had been created by him. Maybe he just needed to come right out and ask her.

"Teagan," he made sure his voice was calm and soft, "what scared you up in the bathroom? I know that it was just more than our hands touching because we've done that a couple of times since we met."

Her body began to draw in on itself, pulling a bit away from him and trying to hide at the same time.

"Please, tell me. I can't help you get over anything in your past if I don't know Keeling did, even though I have a very strong suspicion of what you might tell me."

That was when her crying escalated to where he was getting concerned for her. Moving over so that he was next to her again, he put his arm over her shoulders and leaned Teagan into his for support. He wasn't sure how aware she actually was of how her arms wrapped around his chest, squeezing as if she needed him to support her upright. He placed his other hand over her bare arm while letting her violently sob against him.

The fact that she had become like this after asking such a question led him to believe that she probably had in fact been sexually assaulted. They sat there together as he waited for her to have enough time to become brave enough to tell him this part of her story.

After a few minutes of just being there for her, allowing Teagan to take his hand to hold onto, Sam heard and felt the changes as she began to finally calm down.

"He…Keeling…he did _...things_ to me. Sometimes it was as a punishment, sometimes because he just wanted to. Since he was in charge of me, there was nobody to stop him. If I obeyed, did what I was instructed, he'd tell me that for him to _not_ …do _that_ …was for my good behavior. So I made sure to obey, to not make him angry. But he…"

Teagan grew quiet so he just sat there with her until she reached a point where she could continue.

"There were others, Hydra people, which would contradict him sometimes with how he handled me. He would then take it out on me. There were a few times when I would beg and scream for help from them, even with the gag in. I knew that they understood what I was saying, but they never helped me."

What Keeling had done to her was so bad that she asked for help from others inside of Hydra? And of course she didn't get it. He felt is gut drop.

Sam closed his eyes and took a deep breath, wishing that he got the chance to put his fist right across Keeling's face. Having her confirm his suspicions made him want to go a hit something even more than he had back in Wakanda when he couldn't sleep, and that was just finding out about the Raft. Soldiers coming back with PTSD usually didn't have to deal with any issues on the unique level that Teagan did. He could help her with certain issues but it might take more than just him to help her get past what might have been eleven years of sexual abuse.

"What about the Hydra guards? Did Keeling let them touch you?" he hated to ask.

Shaking her head in the negative, she explained, "At our home base, after a while he decided to rotate out the guards after only shorter times of being there. They were mean, trying to prove themselves to Keeling but they didn't force themselves on me. At other bases, there were too many others around or they knew of the consequences of getting caught potentially hurting a Project."

Really hoping that a specific jackass had some morals, "Did Ross ever do anything to you…like that?"

Teagan gave a weak laugh as she sat up a bit straighter. Her eyes were puffy and red from the breakdown but he knew that sometimes that letting it all out was a good start to getting a foothold on mending. It had also made her freckles stand out more, a shade darker than usual.

"No, he was too scared of me. And I learned quickly which of the guards would like to ' _help'_ me with bathing during my punishments weeks, so it was easy to avoid them."

"Help?"

"When the cuffs were on, they would have to come into my cell to help me use the toilet since I couldn't remove the jumper. After learning their voices, I would take a shower every few days, but only if it was one of the guards that didn't like to touch me more than was necessary to get undressed."

Sam now felt like invading the Raft to punch a few more people.

"I hadn't really considered you needing help to do such simple things that we were able to."

"Compared to what I had already gone through, my time on the Raft was a breeze. My favorite and only real pastime while in the dark was fighting with the guards when they came into my cell. That's who I thought you all were when you first showed up," she told him sounding much more relaxed about it than he felt.

"They didn't hurt you for putting up a fight?"

"Not as badly as Keeling did or threatened to do if I disobeyed his rules. The shock collar was annoying but it gave me a bit of a nap to help the time pass quicker," he could hear the amusement in her voice. He would not have looked at it that way. "Since I had to pass my punishment times doing something, I figured why not make the guards suffer too."

"That is not something to joke about," he told her a bit more firmly than he had intended.

"Seeing Ross punching his own bollocks was absolutely worth it," she had a wide grin now. "I _know_ that you watched that video a few times yourself."

Sam now couldn't hide his own smile since she was right. He then thought about what else she had just said.

"Teagan, you said that Keeling would threaten you...for fighting him?"

"Yeah," she wiped at her face again. "I made a mistake once of doing that so a new rule was issued. Not long after he started...raping me...I kicked him. After that, he made up the rule that the repercussion if I ever did it again would be that he would have my feet cut off. I have no doubt that he meant it."

Sam couldn't believe what he had just heard. This Hydra asshole was that cruel, that he would punish her by amputating her feet? Would his superiors have actually let him go through with something to vicious? With Hydra, Sam knew that there was always a chance.

"Do you at least now believe that neither I nor Cap'n Crunch in there are going to lock you back up?" he asked her seeing that the sky was a bit darker than when they first came out here. He was glad to hear her finally laughing again, even if it was at Steve's expense.

"Yes," she sounded genuine. "I think just getting that part of me past out there to anyone else helped."

"Are you feeling up to heading back inside? I'm sure Steve is sitting in that kitchen staring at that pot waiting for us."

"Oh, janey. The stew! It needs ta' be stirred or it'll burn to tha' bottom!" Teagan then jumped up and reached out to take his hand. "Come on!"

Sam felt a swelling of pride as he let her guide him through the limbs, out of the trees and into the house, her fear of touching him once again gone.

* * *

**The Safe House**  
**During the Next Week  
**

Sam made sure to keep an eye on Teagan to see how she was doing after the incident. He could see that she withdrew a bit, probably still worried even with their talk. After dinner that night, she had retired to her room early with the tablet they had gotten her so that she could download books to read. Her light had stayed on for a few hours, which he noted by the glow under the door as he went upstairs to do unnecessary tasks. The small load of clothes he'd started to wash at past ten o'clock at night could easily have waited until morning.

After talking with Steve, but not going into detail with what he had learned from her, the two of them decided to try and help build her body back up to where it should be. She was very underweight and her stamina was almost non-existent. Sam also hoped that it would be a distraction so that she wouldn't have time to think about Keeling or Ross.

So starting the next morning, Steve had gone from being a captain to a sergeant…a drill sergeant.

Steve had taken the two of them and formed his own very little platoon. Using his own training, he and Teagan found themselves doing jumping jacks, push-ups, and running laps around the tree-enclosed yard. They had agreed that until she seemed to build up enough endurance that they needed to keep her close to the house.

By the time they stopped after a two-hour training session, Teagan was cursing in Irish under her breath as Steve then took off for his own additional exercise. He had joined in with them, but it was nothing compared to what Steve was normally able to accomplish. To make her feel a bit better, he pulled up some of the videos and pictures of younger pre-serum Steve to refresh her memory.

Except for her being taller than he had originally been, Steve had been right about their bodies being frighteningly similar.

That day before lunch they had driven into the larger town again to get more groceries. Steve compiled a list of specific items to get, full of protein and vitamins that would help her body grow healthy again. That didn't mean Sam put back the bag of potato chips she tried to hide under the lettuce. Teagan had seen his expression and pointed out that being Irish meant that she of course had to eat potatoes. He grinned at her logic and let it go, adding a box of chocolate chip cookies to the basket himself.

But close to the end of the week, Sam had noticed a major improvement in Teagan's resilience. She not longer got winded as easily, she managed to make multiple laps around the short running path that he and Steve took on a daily basis, and he was also informed that she had put on three pounds…a lot for her. In the afternoons, Steve worked with her down in the small gym that Nat had, showing her simple boxing moves and letting her use the weights to build up her arm muscles.

The only thing that continued to disturb him about her progress of adjusting was the crying. Sam was sure that every night he heard Teagan crying at some point, midnight, later, or even early morning. There had even been one morning he and Steve had found her asleep on the couch downstairs for some reason. All she would tell them was that the room had more exits.

He could only hope that as the days passed and she felt safer around them and at being at the house that the bad dreams went away.

* * *

_/… she couldn't close her eyes to hide the accusing ones staring at her from across the table…_  
_...her body jerked at the crack of the gun going off…_  
_...wetness splashed over her face…_  
_...droplets of tears ran down her cheek freshly streaked with his blood…_  
_"Back to the cell with her. Clean this traitorous mess up."_  
_"Should we clean her up too?"_  
_"No. It's only blood. Let her have a reminder of how good she performed."_  
_"Good?" the word crawled from her throat…_  
_...his eyes, Keeling's eyes, narrowed on her…_  
_"You dare to contradict me?"_  
_…she stood up to face him as the cuffs released her from the chair and table…_  
_...guards covered entirely in uniforms pulled her back from him…_  
_…staring at Keeling across the room, she uselessly demanded, "Let me go!"…_  
_...she fought so hard the guards threw her to the ground…_  
_…pain as her arms were pulled up behind her back…_  
_...the device was locked onto her again, trapping her here…_  
_"You are mine! Don't you ever forget that!"_  
_"I'll see you rotting in hell one day!"_  
_…screams were now formed from the pain in her arms…_  
_"Oh, you will?" he sneered..._  
_…down the grey hall crying black tears she was dragged…_  
_...the black cell was so close now…_  
_"Yes, not only because I'll be the one to put you there, but since you've damn my soul,_  
_you fecking bastard, I'll be there waiting! Ya turned me into a murderer!"…_  
_…they locked her hanging into place…_  
_...his laughter at her words echoed in the hall..._  
_...the gag was roughly shoved in her mouth..._  
_...the cell door slammed shut…_  
_...darkness absorbed her muffled screams…/_

* * *

"Murderer!"

Steve was startled awake by the single screamed word sounding like it was being forcefully, painfully pried from the speaker.

Teagan!

Jumping up from his bed, he opened his door to find Sam already in the hallway throwing open her bedroom door with a gun in his hand. There were no other sounds coming from anywhere in the house, so if she was being attacked, it was only by one opponent. Crossing the hall as Sam stepped inside the room already bright with the lights that Teagan left on every night, they could see that she was the only one in the room.

"Teagan!" Sam, seeing the room safe, held the weapon behind his back for Steve to take, which he did, before sitting on the edge of the bed where Teagan was struggling with a nightmare. Her arm was swinging out as if trying to hit someone before her so Sam grabbed a hold of her hand before she got him instead. Just as she started to scream, Sam called out to her, "Hey there, girl. Wake up, Teagan. It's just a bad dream. Teagan!"

Steve watched her eyes finally open, focusing on Sam next to her before moving over to him, seeing that both of them had come to help her. Glancing around the room, she confirmed that the nightmare was actually gone. Teagan then broke down and began to sorrowfully cry. These were not little tears. Her entire body was shaking as Sam wrapped his arms around her, whispering comforting words that did not have any immediate effect on her.

For the past three weeks, they had slowly become used to being woken up from her crying out in her sleep from nightmares, but this was the first time that she had used such a specific word. Murderer. There was something horrible that had made her scream that out.

Staying in case Sam needed him, after a few minutes she began to calm and Steve heard him ask, "Teagan, do you remember what you were dreaming about?"

Her head began to furiously nod.

"We came to check on you because we heard you scream out ' _murderer_ ' in your sleep," Sam told her so she knew why they had come running. "Did you think someone was here to murder you? Was it Keeling?"

Shaking her head, "No, not really. I was dreaming about the first time…" she then hesitated.

"The first time what?" Sam calmly asked, now rubbing her back.

Her voice was weaker as she told them, "The first time he made me kill. When he turned me into a murderer."

Steve felt his heart drop hearing her explanation. Sam looked over at him, not sure if Steve could help her with this problem, but he at least wanted to try. Walking to the foot of the bed, Steve sat down as Teagan's fearful eyes glared at him, as if worried he agreed with her.

"Teagan, neither one of us would ever consider you a murderer. I don't believe that you would have gone out and just killed a person for no reason…and I know Sam agrees with me. You did what you had to do to survive as Hydra's prisoner. But you are free from them, and Keeling, and you'll never have to do anything you don't want to ever again."

"It doesn't matter. I'm already dammed to hell thanks to him," she raised her red, tear-streaked eyes to him, and then Steve really understood. Sam's curious expression told him that he didn't.

"Were you raised Catholic?" he asked her, to which she closed her eyes and nodded.

"Teagan, I don't think that God is going to condemn your soul because of what Keeling made you do," Sam told her. "I would hope that any higher power would know what you've been through and know that it wasn't the real you."

"It does matter. Just as if I had been the one to _actually_ pull the trigger. I ended their lives. No penance will change that."

"Penance?" Sam asked either of them.

"An act of goodness to repair the damaged to the soul caused by sin," Steve gave as a simple explanation.

Sam got a sly smile on his face as he then commented, "A get out of jail free card."

Teagan was now a mixture of crying and laughing at his funny way to look at it such a serious topic to her.

"It doesn't exactly work like that," she told him wiping the tears from her face.

"Well, if I have to go through the bible until I find a line that says it _does_ work like that so that you don't have this fear anymore, then I will," Sam told her.

Looking up at him, Sam gave a nod so he knew they were good. He stepped into Sam's room, placing his gun back in the nightstand.

Steve then made his way across the hall to his own room, leaving the two of them as they began to have a talk about religion and Sunday school. It was quite a while later when he finally heard Sam closing his own door, and for the rest of the night it seemed that the nightmares didn't plaque Teagan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the positive reviews! I'm so glad that you have found the story interesting.   
> Teagan was able to get a bit more of her past out to Sam and his calmness is definitely helping her.   
> We'll start slowly skipping forward in time over the next few chapters, showing the more interesting scenes during their time in hiding.


	15. Surprise House Guest

**South Dakota Safe House**   
**Just Over A Month After Arriving**

With nothing interesting on television, the three of them had decided to enjoy the nice weather of the day and congregated on the front porch. There was just enough of a breeze to make the warmer weather comfortable. Steve was reading a real paper book while he and Teagan were both staring at their electronic tablets. He had used an account that Nat had set up so that Teagan could purchase all the books and games she wanted. Earlier this month they had taken a day and spent it giving her a long crash course on purchasing apps, accessing videos, playing games, and of course, downloading books.

Sam had noticed how some nights, even if he and Steve were watching a show, there was a good chance that Teagan would be sitting nearby reading. She had her own favorite shows to watch, mostly cooking ones, but if they wanted to watch sports, she would stay in the den with them using her tablet. He had noticed every so often that she would sometimes move closer to them when they finally settled down somewhere, like she just wanted to be near another person. And if he and Steve were in separate rooms, she would end up near him more often than not.

Sam had no problem with accompanying her silent request.

It was only a few hours after lunch when they heard the sound of an approaching motorcycle. The house was situated at the end of a very long, empty dirt road before reaching the actual rock driveway. If someone was nearby, it could only mean that they were headed to the safe house on purpose. He and Steve were up and moving almost immediately.

"Teagan, inside," he firmly requested while taking her hand to pull her up from the chair.

Seeing them move into action caused a panicked look to cross her face, but she followed his instructions.

Heading into the house with her hand locked in his, he instructed her as he headed to retrieve one of his guns, "Go into your bedroom until we know who it is."

There was a jerking backwards motion on his body as she suddenly came to a halt halfway up the stairs, "Is it Hydra?"

Sam turned around finding her expression brimming with a new fear. Seeing her like that gave him a sharp quick pain in his chest.

"I'm pretty sure it's not Hydra," Steve told her from the first floor. He had taken a defensive stance inside near the window to see who was approaching. "They would not give us enough time to get prepared."

Sam couldn't believe how blunt, but yet accurate, Steve had been.

"We have _got_ to work on how you _try_ to comfort people," Sam called down to him while scoldingly shaking his head. "But he's right. Whoever it is, it's _not_ Hydra."

Teagan glanced to the front of the house before his pull got her moving into her room, the sound of the motorcycle was now much closer. She shut the door behind her as he made for the gun resting in his nightstand. Skipping every other step down, he made it into position.

Steve's body was tense as he glanced outside. Sam could see his left arm bent across his chest, his instinct of protecting himself with the missing shield still evident in his stance. He wondered if Steve even noticed what he was doing?

Now the sound was practically right outside, then it dropped off entirely. Their visitor had arrived.

"Who is it?" he quietly asked hoping to not get into a fight. They were not prepared to get out of here too quickly.

Long moments passed before Steve's shoulders dropped as he shook his head, moving to the door, saying, "I'll give you one red-headed guess, and Teagan would be the wrong answer."

Sam took a heavy sigh as the tension left, a little irritated now that they knew who was here while Steve opened the front door.

"You couldn't at least give us a heads-up?" Steve asked from the front porch as Natasha walked towards them with a large backpack over her shoulder.

"You are supposed to be _thrilled_ at a surprise house guest arriving," she smirked. "But really, since it's _my_ safe house, no, I didn't think to call ahead. Besides, it looks like my showing up kept you on your toes."

Sam nodded to her before he went upstairs to put his gun away and tell Teagan that everything was fine.

Opening her bedroom door, he found the room empty.

"Teagan?"

A moment later, the folding closet door opened, revealing where she had been hiding. Her breathing was in short, quick breaths and her face was flushed. The light inside had not been turned on to expose her location. He knew how hard it was for her to be inside of such a small, dark place, but her fear of Hydra was greater.

"It's only Natasha," he told her.

"Great, now I feel like a fool," she told him, running her hands over her face.

"No, you did _exactly_ what we needed you to. If it _had been_ trouble, you would have heard a fight _and_ been able to prepare yourself."

"I don't think the few boxing moves ya've shown me are going to help me get free if something happened to all of ya," she sadly stated standing next to him.

Putting a finger under her dropped chin, he lifted her head so that she was looking him in the eyes.

"Nothing is going to happen to us. We are the ones prepared for a fight. Nobody knows that you are with us, so even if someone comes after us, they don't know to search for you. The worst would be that we got taken and you ended up alone," he told her, feeling a coldness come over him as he spoke the words.

Teagan must have seen a change in his since she then asked, "What's wrong?"

"I think that the four of us need to sit down and have a discussion. We need to come up with some kind of an escape plan for you…just in case something like that _did_ happen to us," he told her. "If we were captured, I'd worry more about having _you_ out here on your own with no idea what to do or where to go for help than what Ross or the U.N. would do to us. Luckily, the best person to help solve that problem just arrived in a very annoying fashion."

They headed downstairs and the three of them chatted with Nat about Clint and how his family was doing. Wanda had decided to stay with them a bit longer. She also agreed to stay in contact with them if and when she finally decided to leave the farm, Nat having helped to set her up with her own safe house overseas.

After dinner, Sam brought up his concern to them for Teagan needing to know what to do in the case of an emergency, hoping that Nat would indeed have an answer.

"The first item for _this_ location would be a bug-out bag, loaded with funds, travel rations, and a bit of clothing to get through a few days," she informed them. "From here, if you couldn't get to a car it would take a few hours to walk to a large public area so you need to also have some device to help you locate nearby towns. We're staying here for a while longer, and you know a general idea of which way to head, but that might not always be the case with future locations."

"So we are leaving here?" Teagan asked her.

"Not immediately," Steve told her. "But in a few months, it might be a good idea to move to another safe house. It gets pretty cold and snowy here during winter. We're talking below zero multiple days in a row."

"Where would we go?" she asked.

"Anywhere we want," Nat told her. "I have at least two safe houses on each continent, but only one in Antarctica."

Teagan's eyes were probably as wide as his own.

" _Really_?" she asked.

The smirk that Nat gave told him the truth.

"No, she's messing with us," Sam told Teagan while leaning back in his chair.

"Am I?" Nat's expression turned deadly serious.

Looking at her for a moment, his confidence dropped and he answered, "Now I'm not too sure."

That got him a smile from her.

"Well, I vote that if it's real, that we stay far away from that one," Steve supplied.

"Don't feel like turning back into a frozen push-pop of justice?" Nat asked him.

"Not funny, Nat," Steve groaned at her. "I think you might have hung around with Clint for too long."

"What about if we get separated?" Sam tried to get them back on track of watching out for Teagan.

"A simple encrypted cell phone," Nat told him. "I'll program one in with a couple of numbers from other disposable smart phones that we are using, as well as Clint and Wanda. If you find yourself without any of us, call them. I can also program in directions to the closest safe house to us now. And when we leave here, I'll do the same as we move around, but only one at a time. That way all of them wouldn't be compromised if the phone gets lost."

"Alright," Teagan sounded a bit better now that they had a plan in place.

"Nat, could you also put the number of the cell phone I sent to Tony into it? In case of a real emergency?" Steve asked, getting a raised eyebrow from Nat.

"Yes, but he might not answer it being an unknown number," she pointed out.

"Can you have the name show up at something like 'Natasha's new friend'?" Sam asked her. "I don't think he answer if it showed mine or Steve's names."

"Actually, yes, I can," she told him then turning to Teagan. "If you can't get _anyone_ else, call Tony Stark. You'll have to explain who you are and that Steve and I said he'd help you."

"Tony Stark? The one from the videos you showed me of New York?" she asked turning to look at him.

"Yeah, that's him," Sam told her. "He was part of the team before the…incident with Bucky."

Teagan nodded her head, recalling the stories he'd told her over the past month or so.

"It also wouldn't hurt for all of us to memorize at least one emergency phone number just in case something happens to the phone you have. That way you can still get in touch with me," Nat pointed out. "I'll use one of my burner phones and have it always nearby."

"That sounds like a good idea," Steve agreed and everyone nodded.

"What did you do about sleeping arrangements?" Nat then asked.

"We let Teagan have the master so she could have a bath to herself," he told her. His and Steve's rooms only had small single beds but the master had a double.

"Nat, you can have my room and I'll take the couch downstairs," Steve offered. "I've had a few good naps on it so I'll be fine."

"Don't expect me to argue with you," she grinned at him. "Since we're going to be here for a while, I'll head into one of the nearby towns over the next day or so and purchase another single bed. You two guys can shack up together."

"Great," Sam sarcastically answered, rolling his eyes.

"What?" Steve innocently asked.

"You snore."

Steve look actually shocked by the comment.

"I do not," he defended himself. Turning to Teagan, he asked, "Do I snore?"

Sam was sitting so Steve couldn't see him now that he was turned away from him, so Sam began to profusely nod his head, trying to get Teagan to go along with his taunt. He saw a sparkle in her eye as she did.

"Like a banshee with a head cold," she managed to say.

But seeing the sorrowful look appear on Steve's face, she couldn't hold the lie and started laughing at him.

Steve turned to Sam and pointed a finger right at him, "You're a bad influence on her."

Now he had to join in the laughing.

Once the two of them had died down, Nat got Teagan's attention and commented, "By the way, I like what you've done with your hair. A bit funky and different."

Running her hand up the back of the smooth, shaved lower part, "Thanks, but all I did was tell Antoinette at the salon in town that she could do anything that she thought she could with it. But I do like it."

Nat then ran her fingers through her own hair, pulling a bit of the long, straight, familiar red strands into view. He didn't know why but for some reason he preferred Teagan's red to Nat's. Maybe it had to do with the accompanying freckles and stunning green eyes.

"Maybe I need to consider getting something a bit less noticeable," she stated.

"Wouldn't that be breaking some kind of superhero code?" Sam joked with her.

"If there _is_ anything like that, wouldn't _Steve_ be in trouble _too_?" she asked, flippantly pointing a finger at Steve.

"What do you mean?" Steve then asked her.

"You look like you haven't shaved in a week. I didn't even know that you _could_ grow facial hair," she smirked at him.

Steve ran his hand over the barely there stubble.

"Maybe I need to consider a disguise too," he told them. "I might consider going for the same look that Bucky has. It worked for two years for him."

"How about you?" Teagan then asked Sam. "Thinking about more of a beard or haircut?"

Sitting up a bit straighter, he boastfully remarked with a smile, "And ruin these good looks…I don't think so."

"I'll make a decision on the change before I go into town," Nat told them as her fingers twirled a strand of red hair.

Sam looked over at Teagan smiling as he told her, "Looks like you started a trend."

* * *

"How has Teagan been doing?" Nat asked him once the two of them were alone later that night out on the front porch.

"Compared to how she was when we got here, she'd doing better," Steve told her. "But don't get too shocked or startled if you're woken up by the sounds of screams."

Nat's head dropped a bit at hearing that.

"They're not as often as they used to be, practically every night, but when she does have them, it will curdle your blood sometimes."

"There's a chance that every time we have to move around that being in a new location might bring them out again," Nat told him, making him give her a curious look. "It was not as bad as hers sound, but I had a hard time for a while right after I first left with Clint. It would take a while to get comfortable being somewhere new and just when I did, it was time to move again."

Steve was surprised that Nat had even admitted that much to him. She liked to keep to herself but maybe hearing that Teagan was in a similar position as she had once be in had softened her some...not that he would ever tell Nat as much. He'd like to keep all of his fingers and toes.

"We expected you to join us a bit sooner. Were you enjoying your vacation?"

"Yes, but I was also keeping track of some stuff going on," she told him. "Scott eventually got picked up by the authorities."

Steve spun his head quickly towards her at hearing that.

"Is he back on the Raft?"

"No," she shook her head. "He ended up making a deal for two-years being on house arrest and then probation. So right now, he's got an ankle monitor on that tracks his movements."

With that, Nat pulled out her cellphone and after clicking a few times, turned it for him to see. There was a small red dot listing him as standing in the kitchen of a house. Somehow he was not surprised that Nat was tracking him, and that she probably had better monitoring than the authorities.

"He's still in San Francisco, and he's working with his friends who started up a security firm. His family visits him often. Casey is even allowed overnight visitation on the weekends. It seems that they don't hold any grudge against him."

"That's good," Steve relaxed back. "I know from listening to him during the flight that his daughter means a lot to him. What about Clint?"

"He ended up putting in the official paperwork necessary under the Accords to list himself as retired. We managed to keep his farm's location a secret, using an older safe-house of his from years ago as his official address."

Steve nodded knowing that with his family, that was probably the best.

"I'm going to miss him," he told her, then decided to ask. "And what about you?"

Nat gave a coy smile and turned to look out at the moonlit covered yard before answering.

"Wanted for being an accomplice in allowing Captain America and the Winter Soldier to escape at the Leipzig airport."

"I'm sorry for that," he told her. "I just wish that I had been able to talk with Tony and you before it escalated the way that it did."

"It's not like I haven't been wanted by the authorities before," she slightly grinned at him. "And I'm sure that if T'Challa had found out the truth about Bucky before he informed Ross of my actions, that he never would have told them about my involvement."

"I'm sure you're right."

Hearing laughter from inside of the house, he turned just enough to see Sam and Teagan through the window sitting on the couch together. Sam's arms were very animated, Steve figuring that he was probably telling her another Falcon story.

"Don't they look very comfortable together," Nat commented, something smirky in her voice.

"Yes. Sam's been helping Teagan a lot with adjusting back into the world. They'll sit together for an hour or two almost every day just talking, almost like in a therapy session. He's learning a lot more about what she went through, none of it good. I've tried to just be there as a friend. But the two of them, they've formed a special bond."

"How special?"

Steve looked back over a her, asking, "What do you mean?"

Nat began to shake her head, as if disappointed in him for some reason.

"My poor, naive super soldier."

* * *

"You do realize that Steve can't go to bed until we go upstairs?" she asked Sam who looked to almost be falling asleep on the other side of the couch.

"Serves him right, making me do an extra fifty push-up this morning," Sam then yawned, making her do the same.

"You didn't actually have to do them, you know," she pointed out.

"I couldn't give him the satisfaction of having more ammo to taunt me with later on."

Standing up, she reached over and took Sam's hand, pulling him up from where he was stretched out with his feet on the coffee table. With a groan, he rose giving a look to where Steve and Nat were still talking on the front porch.

"What do you think they are talking about?" she asked, hoping that it didn't have to do with her.

"Probably the Accords and what's going on because of them," Sam told her as she led him up the stairs.

It wasn't until they were at her bedroom door that she realized that Sam had never let go of her hand. Seeing her looking at them, Sam cleared his throat before slowly letting go. She kind of missed the feeling of his warmth. Since the incident and talk under the tree, she'd always made sure to not panic when she realized that a touch had lingered too long. There had only been a few times like that and none had scared her like that first time in the bathroom. She had grown to trust Sam enough to be able to hold it together without freaking out on him again.

"You don't think that she found out anything about Keeling, do you?"

"No," Sam told her, looking a bit more awake now. "If she had any type of news, good or bad, she would have told us. She's not going to keep that kind of secret from you."

"What type _will_ she keep from me?"

"Nat's got a Grand Canyon of secrets that nobody probably knows about," Sam told her. "But if you're that worried about Keeling, we'll talk with her and Steve in the morning and let them know that they shouldn't be worried to keep anything from you. Good or bad news."

"Thanks. I would appreciate it," she told him, feeling a bit better.

"If Nat was serious about changing her hair, how about we ride into town with her and grab some more groceries since we have another mouth to feed. We can also play a couple of games of checkers over at the hardware store while we wait for her."

"Sounds good to me," she told him with a smile, stepping into her room. "Goodnight, Sam."

"Night, Teagan," he said walking into his own room.

* * *

**Unknown Hydra Base**   
**Roughly Two Months After The Escape**

"No! And until I have some type of _actual evidence_ that Teagan _is_ with Captain America, I will _not_ reassign a team to search for her," Henry Bradshaw told him from across the conference table. "I'll not have useful resources wasted on a damn hunch."

Their latest weekly meeting had ended not long ago, and after his third appeal for a private team to be assigned under him to work, he had requested to speak with Henry alone. Marcus knew that it had been a few months since the escape from the Raft, and that during that entire time there had been zero sign of the Captain, Black Widow, and by default, Teagan.

But that didn't mean that his anxiousness for getting her back under his control was any less. If anything, he was even more determined to find his runaway tool.

"But you've seen the weekly supply reports from the Raft. You know..."

"Don't tell me what I know!" Henry's voice boomed authoritatively. "For all we _do_ know, Ross could have just had her secretly moved to a new secure location due to the Raft being compromised."

Marcus sat there seething, wishing now that at some previous time when he'd had Teagan here under his control that he'd thought about having her give Henry a simple command of obeying him. That way, in a case like this, he would have any resources he needed at his disposal. Instead, they were in the same argument as the last two times.

Once she was brought back here, having Henry ordered to obey _him_ would be one of her very first instructions.

"If I had a team actively searching for them, then maybe I could get you that evidence."

"Thanks to our informant close to Secretary Ross, we know he has plenty of resources already actively hunting for that little band of miscreants, and so far, months later, they have turned up nothing," Henry pointed out...again. "And even if they do turn up somewhere, there is no guarantee that Teagan would be with them. Especially if you assumption of her being locked away by them for being too much to deal with is correct."

Marcus sat back in his chair and began to stew with the reasoning. He almost wished that he'd never even told that thought to Henry as a possibility. Now it was coming back to haunt him. The only thing he was sure of is that Teagan had not shown back up in Ireland at her family's home. Henry had at least allowed one agent to do a bit of quiet recon to learn that.

"But..." Henry's voice caught his attention. "Once I can get _actual_ confirmation on Teagan's status or whereabouts, I will authorize you that team to work on her recapture."

Marcus couldn't help but smile at hearing that. Henry gave him a final nod before walking out of the conference room.

At least that was better than nothing, he considered. Now he just wondered how long he would have to wait...


	16. Getting To Know Each Other - Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These next two chapters contains a couple of short scenes where the group interacts and get to know each other a bit better. I've done similar in my other stories. The events do not happen on the same day unless stated. I like to think that this time encompasses roughly just over four months. Other days not stated would have been normal with them just hanging out...Sam and Teagan getting just a little bit closer each passing day.  
> Please take into account that they are spending a lot of time together. Their closeness is not just suddenly happening, or spontaneous. I think that it would be better for the story to just show a couple of snippets of their lives over a long period of time.  
> BTW: Game of Thrones spoiler for season six (2016 is the year this takes place, don't forget).

 

 **Song** : _Under Your Scars_ by Godsmack

* * *

_**PART ONE OF TWO** _

* * *

**South Dakota Safe House  
Over The Next Four Months**

* * *

"Best four out of seven!" Steve heard Sam demanded of Teagan after he lost another round of 'thumb-war'.

Glancing around till he found the prize they were playing for, Steve spotted the final homemade blueberry muffin sitting on the kitchen close to the back door. The next batch had not come out of the oven yet and wouldn't be cooled off for a short while.

Casually, he strolled through the kitchen as the two of them began another round, gripping hands and fingers together. He was glad that the two of them were comfortable enough with each other for such a simple action that he and Nat would take for granted. It seemed that Teagan was getting a lot more comfortable around them.

Opening up the screen door onto the back porch, he walked outside without either of them noticing his sleight of hand.

Rounding the corner of the house, Steve finally heard Sam's voice call out, "Where's the muffin!? Steve!", as he took a bite of the treat before he began to run away from the sound of footsteps chasing him.

* * *

Walking into the den after showering and finishing putting away his laundry, Sam noticed that Teagan was still sitting on the same side chair that she had been in since heading upstairs almost an hour ago. And the television was not even on for her to watch. She was just sitting there quietly, not moving in any way. Her eyes were the same glazed over that he had seen that first day back in Wakanda on the porch. Teagan made no sign to indicate that she had even realized he had entered the room.

Glancing into the empty kitchen, he figured that Steve and Nat had not yet returned from their grocery run into town yet.

Sam walked around the perimeter of the room so that he could approach Teagan from the direction her vision was unfocused on. He knew that she would jump out of her skin if he suddenly appeared at her side.

When he was about five feet in front of her, Teagan's face changed from the emotionless slate as her eyes shifted to focus on his approach.

"Hey there," he calmly told her, taking a seat on the rug close to her feet. He didn't want to loom over her, an action that her mind could take as a threat.

"Sam?" Teagan said his name sounding like she was testing her memory, as opposed to really knowing it.

How he wished that he could take her to talk with some of the doctors that had volunteered back at the VA. She needed a lot of help. The only thing they could offer her here was constant friendship and companionship. Maybe over time that would be enough.

"Would you tell me what you were doing just now? You did the same thing back on the patio in Wakanda," he requested.

Teagan pursed her lips in embarrassment. Sam was starting to think she might not even realize what had happened until she answered.

"Freeze," she simply said.

Shaking his head, Sam responded, "Freeze? I don't understand."

"I freeze. I don't think, I don't move. That way everything stays and nothing bad can happen."

Sam couldn't help but be shocked by her strange admission. _That_ was what he had witness on the video. Polly had been awake but found a way to shut her mind and body down in hopes that nothing else bad would happen to her. It sent a cold hurt through him at the idea.

"I know that you may not believe it yet, but you don't have to worry about something bad happening with us around," he softly told her. "You don't have to just sit here and do nothing if we are all doing something else. This house is not a cell. You can move around inside and out. You can watch television any time that you want."

Teagan began to slowly nod her head, as if beginning to see that he was right.

"I just...sometimes it..." he could see that she was trying to find the right words. Sitting he patiently waited. "There are times when it just doesn't feel real."

Sam had not heard that in a long time, and the last time he had, it was from a veteran who had been held prisoner for over a year. He admitted that every so often, he felt like he was just dreaming, that he was still locked away.

"Teagan," he knew that wording this was going to be hard since he wanted to keep it simple. "Earlier, did you start to feel like this was a dream, and that if you moved or did something, that it would all go away and you'd be back in a cell?"

He actually saw her face light up, as if hearing someone else say what she had felt meant so much to her.

"That's it," she nodded in agreement. "When I first got to the Raft, I was so glad to be away from Keeling that I wanted to make sure that I didn't do anything to make him appear."

"Do you think that Keeling or Ross is going to show up here?"

Now she seemed less ardent with talking about this. Sam knew that he had just brought up something that was a serious fear to her. Even with their precautions, and even having helped her pack the bug-out bag in her room, Teagan was afraid of being taken again. There was no way to alleviate that fear except for the safe passage of time, which she had not had a lot of yet.

"I trust all of ya," she lowly admitted, "but sometimes it's hard to trust myself."

He needed to get her out of the mood that had made her freeze.

"Would you like to go for a walk? It's a nice day outside. We could walk straight down the drive and road until Steve and Nat get back, then hop a ride home with them."

"Outside?" there was a lightness in her voice. Being outside always made her happy.

"Yeah," he said standing up before offering his hand to help her up. Teagan gave it a glare for a few moments too long, as if she were hesitant to touch his skin. But then, she finally reached out and accepted it.

Sam knew that he would have to make sure to check on Teagan a bit more often when it was just the two of them. Since arriving at the safe house, this was the first time he had seen her become like this, even though the others had mentioned finding her like this a few times. It only took calling out to her or gently touching her shoulder to bring her mind back from wherever it had gone.

With three others being here, there was almost always someone around her, which probably helped to keep her occupied. Even when cooking alone, Teagan would have an activity to keep her mind from freezing. He would talk with Nat when they got back about getting Teagan her own tablet so that she could have easy access to books and games...anything to help keep her stimulated.

They walked out of the front door and he hoped that it took Steve and Nat a bit longer than normal to get back, giving them plenty of time to walk and talk.

* * *

Nat yawned while running her hand through the shoulder length blond hair as she came down the steps in the morning only to find the television still on with the screen paused showing someone being chased by a horde of zombies while two very tied people crashed on the couch. Yesterday morning, she and Sam had been discussing television shows that were very popular that Teagan had missed during her confinement. Sam had learned that she liked the movie _The_ _Boondock Saints_ since it dealt with Irish characters, and when she had heard that Norman Reedus was in _The Walking Dead_ , that was all it had taken for the two of them to start a binge-watching marathon.

And it looked like they had managed to make it through a couple of seasons before their bodies gave out.

Sam and Teagan had finally fallen asleep at some point together on the couch. They had gotten pillows from their beds and propped them up against the arms. Both were spread out partially covered in a single blanket with their heads at opposite ends while their feet and legs meet and mingled at the center. Nat couldn't help but smile at seeing the four limbs wound together.

That was when she realized that Teagan had slept through the entire night without waking.

As she walked into the kitchen to start the coffee, Nat wondered if the two of them even noticed how close they were getting.

She sure had.

Maybe it was time to make a bet with Steve...

* * *

It was just her and Sam heading up the stairs to finally head to bed. Natasha had gone up long ago, and Steve had fallen asleep on the couch.

But the two of them were still sitting on the front porch in rocking chairs. After painting them yesterday, they initially were just testing if the paint was dry. That had been hours ago.

She had asked Sam to tell her about some of the other missions that the Avengers had gone on, either together or separately. It seemed like Thor had the most outrageous stories of their group, especially since his would deal with other worlds and aliens. When she'd asked if they had ever been able to confirm if Thor was telling the truth, Sam instantly suggested putting her powers to the test on him. He said that there were a few tales that he felt just _had_ to be exaggerated.

Reaching the upstairs hall, Teagan paused outside of her door as she turned around to tell Sam good night.

But seeing him standing so close, looking her in the eyes, her voice never came out.

Seconds passed as they stood there and her mind filled with a foolish spark of hope that he was going to give her a good night kiss.

Teagan thought she saw his body slightly sway towards her for a moment, her heart starting to pound in anticipation...

But then Sam straightened up, cleared his throat, and told her in an overly calm voice, "Good night, Teagan."

Putting on a fake smile that she hoped looked sincere, she responded, "Good night, Sam," before taking a step inside of her room and closing the door behind her.

Never in her life had she been so disappointed.

* * *

The pond was not very big, but at least it was a landmark where he could take Teagan when she wanted to get out of the house.

At least over the past few weeks when she had started to feel her body begin to 'freeze', she had taken his advice and come to him. Sam would stop whatever he had been doing and the two of them would go outside for a long walk. The incidents of her being found alone and not moving were slowly diminishing. He had also made Steve and Nat aware of why it was happening and to help they would draw her into some project they were working on.

"Do you think there are any fish in there?" Teagan asked him from where she lay on the grass next to him.

"Since we're nowhere near the ocean, I don't think so. And it doesn't look big enough to have been stocked with fish," he answered, leaning up to rest on his elbows as he stared at the water. "If there are, we've never seen them jump."

"True. Do you think that we should mention that to Steve then?" she asked with a devious smile.

Steve had been down here a couple of times with a cane fishing pole, just sitting and waiting for something to bite his bait for hours. He had yet to catch anything.

"Nope," Sam told her lying back down to stare at the clouds with her. "Why ruin one of his only enjoyments around here."

"Good point," Teagan stated. "So how did you meet Riley for the first time?"

Sam couldn't help but smile...

* * *

She managed to stop the next scream that wanted to pass her lips, but only thanks to the firm arms holding her against a chest as the smooth, rich voice spoke calming words.

"You're safe, Teagan. Nobody is here to hurt you. You don't have to be scared."

Sam...it was his voice and arms holding her as she violently cried yet again.

Her mind began to replay the nightmare she had finally managed to wake up from after being tortured with it for too long. Keeling...her hands...the snapping of her fingers...her screams of fear and pain. She pulled her hand out from the covers to stare at them, to make sure that the bones were still not bent in strange directions.

"They're fine, they're fine..." she whispered, seeing that they were still healed, straight, and not riddled with stabbing pains.

Sam released her body from his chest just enough to see what she was looking at. He must have understood as he took one of her hands into his. They were rough in a nice way, reminding her that he was real, and that Keeling was now the dream.

"They're not injured," he whispered to her. "You're safe."

From where the doorway was, she heard the shuffling of feet...probably from where Steve and Natasha had been watching her breakdown yet again in the night.

"I'm sorry. I woke ya all up again," she tried to say without her voice cracking.

Natasha came into view as she sat on the edge of the bed next to Sam.

"There's no need to apologize, Teagan," she told her, seeing a sincere expression on Natasha's face. "This is one of the few groups out there that can understand the affects that bad experiences can have on someone. We all have our own demons to deal with."

"But none of you wake the house up with screaming in the night," she pointed out.

"Give yourself some time," Steve told her from the doorway. "Once you feel safer, your mind will start to calm down at night. Don't worry about us. If you need support, just ask, anytime."

Teagan nodded after a few moments, glad for the offer she hoped that would not be necessary for much longer.

"How about tomorrow the two of us go into town and see about having our nails done?" Natasha asked. "Maybe a new memory about something nice with your hands will help. We'll find you the _craziest_ color they have."

Now she really did have a smile going.

"That sounds like fun."

Sam lingered a few extra moments after the other left, making sure she was calm enough to go back to sleep.

"Are you good?" he asked, still holding onto her hand.

Teagan nodded that she was so Sam went ahead and stood up.

"Thanks for waking me up. I couldn't get out of there on my own. And for not..." she drifted the end of that thought off.

"And?" he asked her, looking curious.

Teagan took a deep breath before deciding to just tell him, "For not chaining me to the bed like the guards on the Raft did when a nightmare got to me."

She could see Sam become visible disturbed by the comment, but he shook it off then told her with a shake of his head, "That's not my kind of kink."

A gasp of amused surprise escaped from her as she looked over at him for the comment, a look telling her he knew exactly what she would think.

"What _is_ your type of kink?" she decided to be bold and ask.

Sam slowly began to grin, exposing that cute gap between his teeth, raising his eyebrows a couple of times, before walking away telling her, "Good night, Teagan."

Falling back down on the bed, Teagan's mind began to conjure up a couple of sexy, dirty thoughts to fall asleep by. All of them making her have a constant smile.

* * *

"Alright, so explain to me why the fecken hell there is avocado flavored ice cream?"

Sam almost had his milkshake coming out of his nose as Teagan asked him that as they crossed the street towards the town's small center park so they could eat their cold treats.

"Avocados have become very popular over the past few years," he simply told her.

"To the point that they made it into ice cream?" she was started to sound like she didn't believe him.

"Yes," he nodded in agreement. "You can now also get them in salads, sandwiches, and I saw one restaurant that had avocado hamburger buns."

"Aww, nawh...don't try to pull that malarkey with me, _I'll_ get the truth out of ya," she told him, lifting up a single finger to indicate her powers.

"I wouldn't lie to you...there's no point," he calmly remarked.

Teagan looked over at him, probably judging his serious face.

"Fine, you're telling the truth...but that all _still_ sounds _disgusting_ ," she told him taking a lick from her raspberry sorbet in a sugar cone.

Suddenly, his mind went to a very naughty place seeing her tongue swipe up the side to catch a melted drip running down the side.

He had been trying to do better with his emotions after he found himself leaning over to give her a kiss late one night a few weeks back.

Clearing his throat, he sucked on the straw and forced his eyes to not stray from the park bench they were headed for. He needed to stop having all of these partially sexual thoughts pop into his head.

Sure they always had fun together when they hung out, either watching television or just talking on the porch. She made him laugh more than any other female had in a long time. And with all that she was rediscovering in the world around her, it made him feel better inside knowing that she was happy and that he was a part of that.

She probably only saw him as a friend, nothing more.

There was no way that Teagan would ever consider him as someone to get closer to like a boyfriend...right?

* * *

"What are you doing out here?" Teagan heard Sam ask as she sat on the porch at the back of the house.

The entire sky was dark gray, almost appearing as if it was late evening, even though it was not even noontime yet. The heavy pelts of rain hitting the house were what had brought her outside to sit on the open back porch. The rumble of thunder was still at a distance, but the wind was whipping her hair as it hastily moved the clouds over them.

"Clagarnach," she told him with a grin, knowing he'd not understand the meaning.

Opening the screen back door, Sam came to sit in the rocking chair next to her, asking, "Which is?"

"Close your eyes and listen," she told him, doing the same.

The safe-house had a metal roof and the thick droplets of rain pounded all around them, almost to the point where Teagan was sure she could feel it throughout her body.

"That sound you hear…that is clagarnach," she told him.

"There's an actual word for the sound of rain on metal?" he asked turning to her.

"Roofs in general, but it works great with this one," she told him. "It's a traditional pastime back home to complain about the rain."

Small puddles had been forming in the low spots of the grass. The clouds went all the way to the horizon. It would hopefully be raining all day.

Standing up, Teagan walked over to where the rain was pouring off the roof in a deluge, sticking her hands underneath to interrupt the massive flow. The warm air surrounded her and the cold splashes hitting her felt…foreign. It had been so long since she'd seen or touched rain. Making a decision, she walked down the few steps to the ground.

"Teagan, what are you doing?" Sam's worried voice asked her as he stood and moved to the steps. "You're getting wet."

Turning around, she lifted her arms high into the air as she laughed at the comment.

"Of course I am, amaidich," she shook her head. "Take a guess as to the last time I was able to do this."

She saw Sam's expression slightly fall as he considered her words. But as quickly as that happened, he got a smile on his face.

"Did you just insult me?"

"If I did, what are you going to do about it?" she asked taking a few more steps away from the house, holding her arms wide and egging him on for fun. "Falcons are afraid of water, aren't they?"

Knowing he wouldn't stand for the tease, Sam gave a single heavy sigh just before he stepped off of the porch into the rain to prove her wrong. In seconds, his dark green t-shirt was drenched and began to reveal a muscular chest hidden beneath. Her breath hitched as a strange feeling ran through her at the sight of her friend...her well-built male friend. Lifting her eyes to his, she found Sam with a curious look of his own, then realized that her own shirt had probably done the same.

But just as he took a few steps over the grass towards her, a loud crack of lightning and thunder cut through the sky. Lightning lit up the entire area in a blinding white flash, deafening them while striking a nearby area past the trees behind her. Screaming out at being frightened, she lurched forward towards Sam away from the bolt. He, on the other hand, fell backwards away from her, landing on the ground.

Since he was no longer standing where she needed support to stop, Teagan fell to the ground next to him her arm lying over his wet chest.

Taking in their appearance, Teagan began a fit of giggles, managing to get out, "Fierce fecking weather," while laying in the mud puddle.

"Yep, that's mud in my shorts," Sam commented after a moment of them both lying on the ground, evaluating themselves to make sure they were fine. The air had a hint of burnt ozone in it for a few seconds before it dissipated.

"Well, it matches what's on your head," she told him trying to hold in a grin.

Reaching up, Sam ran his hand over his wet scalp, not feeling anything at all.

"There's nothing…" was as far as he got before she slapped the handful of mud right on top of it.

There was no stopping the cackle of laughter that burst from her at seeing the brooding, angry look that Sam was now giving her.

"Oh, so that's how it is?" his eyes narrowed at her, but she saw the corner of his mouth curl up, and she knew that retribution was coming.

By the time the two of them walked inside of the house much later, they were both covered in mud from head to toe. Steve and Natasha were sitting in the den watching television, their eyes shockingly wide as they took in the sight of them.

Gritting his teeth and holding up a single finger at them, "Don't say a damn word," Sam firmly instructed...but she heard the amusement in his tone as they headed upstairs to get cleaned up.

It had been one of her best days ever.

* * *

Nat watched from across the small basement workout area at Teagan going after the punching bag. She had been working late on her computer at the kitchen table when Teagan had snuck back downstairs after having gone to bed just a couple of hours earlier. She had easily picked up on her nervousness and anxiety. So she had suggested that the two of them head down here so Teagan could try working out some of her demons.

Steve had instructed Teagan on her stance and punching months ago, so tonight Nat had just talked, giving a ear to the topics that were upsetting her. Most of it was set around Keeling, as she had suspected. Every time Nat had mentioned a specific topic that upset her, Teagan was to hit the bag as hard as she could. So far, almost every hit was hard.

Seeing Teagan's sweaty body finally starting to slump, Nat figured that she had finally managed to wear her out a bit.

"Feeling better?"

Between hard panting, "Fecking yeah," Teagan grinned at her.

"Then let's head upstairs. You need a shower before crawling back into bed," she told her as she began to help remove the padded gloves they both wore.

"There's no way I'll be up in time to run with Steve and Sam in the morning," Teagan pointed out as they headed upstairs.

"Don't worry, I'll let them know."

"Thanks for just being there, Natasha."

"Not a problem. If you need to do it again, just come and wake me up," she told her before deciding to probe a bit more. "You didn't want to wake Sam up tonight?"

Teagan gave a weak smile before answering, "No, I've been waking him up a lot. I don't want to make him mad at me."

"I wouldn't worry about that," she told her. "I'm pretty sure that he would never mind."

Heading up the stairs, Nat could almost hear Teagan's thoughts scrambling to decipher her comment.


	17. Getting To Know Each Other - Part Two

**PART TWO OF TWO**

* * *

Walking into the kitchen, Sam saw Teagan standing at the top of stairs leading into the basement. In her hands was a basket of her dirty laundry, the muddy ones from a few days ago catching his eyes and making him smile at the memory of the mud fight. Giving pause for a few seconds, he realized there was no movement from her at all. It was if she was transfixed on the narrow, creepy stairs leading down to where the laundry machines were located. The underground bottom level was little more than a rough concrete floor and brick walls. He knew she had been down there many times, so why was she hesitating this time?

"Teagan?" he finally asked as he took a few steps closer.

It was only when he put his hand on her shoulder that she was startled from whatever thoughts had trapped her in place.

"What?" she asked trying to focus on him, her eyes slightly glazed over.

"Are you alright?" he asked glancing down the simple wooden steps. "Tell me what's wrong?"

"I…it's…it's dark…" she then turned back to the doorway.

Reaching over, he flipped the light switch but found that the bulbs at the top of the stairs and close to the bottom were burnt out, making him realize the problem she was having. It was too small of a dark space for her to handle this soon. He knew she still liked to leave at least one light on in her room during the night.

Taking the basket from her hands, Sam started to take a couple of steps downward.

"Sam, I don't think I can go down there," Teagan called out to him.

"It's alright. Right now, you don't have to. Just wait right there and give me a minute," he told her as he reached the bottom.

He put her clothes into the washing machine, getting it started for her. Next, Sam went over to snag the spare light bulbs on the shelf which he had gotten at the hardware store weeks ago. Grabbing a box, he began to change out the few others were out in the lower basement.

Sam figured he was taking too long for Teagan's liking as he heard her call out, "Sam, are you okay?", making him a little elated that she was so worried about him even though it was not necessary.

"Yes, I'm almost done," he called out to her, not wanting her to worry. He made quick work of the final lower bulbs.

Walking to the bottom of the stairs where she could see him, her body physically relaxed once he was in view as Teagan watched him from where she sat on the floor in the kitchen. She was intently glowering down into the basement as if she were mad at it for being in the house she was probably starting to feel safe in. He changed out the two in the staircase as she quietly watched him.

If she were worried for him after only a minute out of her sight, Sam knew he would have to find out a bit more about what scared her of the dark so much. She had mentioned a black room cell, but so far she had not brought it up in their talks. He was slowly going through her file, having to take brakes or skip over the details of some of her 'testing' due to becoming sickened by it. But as for her actual fear of the dark, there had to be something so minor to Hydra that they had not felt it worth of putting into writing. It would be up to her to tell him that part of her tale.

"I changed out every burnt-out bulb I could find," he told her coming up the stairs. Teagan stood as he offered her his hand.

Hesitantly, she took the first couple of steps as he helped her finally reach the bottom. Looking around, he saw her eyes darting to the few remaining dark corners, as it something…or someone…might be there.

"Thanks," she told him walking over to the machines and seeing her load already going.

"Changing out a few bulbs was nothing," he told her.

"It is to me," he could barely hear her whispered words, the meaning behind them making a warm glow in his chest.

* * *

Coming back from his run, Steve could hear the sounds of Celtic folk music drifting from the safe-house. All of the windows were wide open, and the screen doors on the first floor were in place. After he had burnt dinner last night, the house still had a smoky scent this morning so everyone agreed to let it air out for a bit since the day was so nice.

Looking in through the front screen door, Steve spotted Sam just outside of the kitchen watching something, or someone he really figured, inside of it. That was when he heard the singing accompanying the music. Teagan was singing along in Gaelic.

Opening the door quietly, he was able to make his way to just behind Sam without him even noticing his arrival. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Teagan working with the ingredients for the dessert she wanted to make, Irish Porter Cake, on the kitchen table with her back to them.

Backing off a few feet until he reached the stairs, Steve's movements finally caught Sam's attention as his head turned towards him before he quickly made his way over to the couch. Steve couldn't remember any previous time that Sam had been embarrassed for doing anything.

But silently watching Teagan cooking...? Interesting. Maybe he was going to loose that bet with Nat.

* * *

Leaving the bar, the group was laughing after spending the past two hours of hanging out, drinking and playing pool. He and Teagan had finally gotten Nat to join them in a couple of pints while Steve kept to sodas. After a few beers, Sam had heard Teagan telling the bartender to start making sure that Steve's cola was changed to Shirley Temples. As they were leaving, Steve had just commented on how he liked the strange drink he'd ended up with, causing the laughter to echo over the parking lot.

They were all distracted by the funny comment so they didn't closely play attention to the patron walking towards the front door until he pulled out the gun.

"Give me your wallets," his eyes darted between the four of them.

The quiet of the night quickly returned as they glared at the man with the shaky hand.

Sam gave a sideways steps so that he was now partially giving Teagan cover.

"You don't realize how bad your night just became," Nat calmly told the guy.

"Shut up!" he turned the weapon towards Nat. "Wallets! Now!"

"There's no way we're doing that..." Sam started to tell him.

A second later, a hand with a wad of cash appeared from behind him where Teagan was.

"Here you go," her voice was eerily happy. Why would she find being robbed amusing?

Taking a step around him, Teagan cautiously approached him with her hand extended so he could see the money she offered.

"Smart girl," he said reaching out with his free hand for the offering.

"Teagan," Sam whispered her name, worried as to what was happening.

But a moment before her hand made contact with his, Sam figured it out.

As her hand touched his, they heard her state in a very clear voice, " _Do not fire that gun. Do not yell or run away_."

Teagan was using her powers on the robber.

"Hand your gun over to Natasha," she instructed him, the robber instantly complying.

" _When we part, you will forget ever meeting us. You will go directly home, go to sleep, and when you wake up you will slap yourself in the face, tell yourself you were luck that you changed your mind so nobody got hurt, and then you will never think about robbing someone again_ ," she continued to tell him.

Releasing her hand from his, Teagan took a step past him so he and the others did the same. Nat had put the gun away out of sight.

"That could have been dangerous, Teagan," Steve's firm voice broke the silence as they approached the car.

"He was more interested in the money," she pointed out. "Besides, I don't look as intimidating as the three of you do. At least he won't be robbing anyone else."

"Just keep yourself safe," Steve told her opening up the truck's door and getting inside to drive, while Nat took up the rest of the front seat.

Standing with Sam next to the closed door, she asked quietly, "Do you think he's mad at me?"

He knew that Teagan was once again worried about them locking her away, even after all of this time together.

"No," he told her taking her hand into his. "I think that he was more worried that the gun might have gone off and that you would have gotten hurt."

He saw her once again starting to bite her lower lip as she considered his words.

"Ok," she then said with a nod of her head. "Next time, I'll let Natasha handle it. I wouldn't mind seeing her fighting against someone else besides you or Steve."

"Trust me when I say that will be a very short fight," he told her opening up the truck's back door.

* * *

"Are they still out there?" Steve asked emerging from the kitchen as she watched Sam and Teagan through the front window.

"Of course," she told him, sounding very happy, as if she knew something that nobody else did, but then this was Nat who always sounded like that.

Teagan and Sam had begun arguing this morning over which was better, baseball or cricket. So, after driving into town today, the two of them had returned with lunch and a bat, ball, and gloves. All four of them had taken turns hitting at the ball while another pitched, but he and Nat had grown bored first. Or at least _claimed_ to have. The two of them were still going at it.

Steve had also agreed to cook hot dogs on the grill for dinner again and he had just finished gathering up his supplies.

"I'm glad that Teagan seems to have come out of her shell," Nat wanted to point out to him, as they headed back into the kitchen.

Nodding his head, Steve told her, "It's easy to be calm when you're surrounded by good people and friends. Any sign of Keeling?"

Nat had to unfortunately shake her head as she grabbed up all the condiments for the table out back where they were going to eat next to the grill.

"Nothing," she sighed aloud as they headed outside together. "After going through more of her file, I wouldn't mind getting my hands on him for a few hours. It's been a few years since I've had anyone I felt was _deserving_ of some of my more _special talents_."

"Nat, that's _not_ what you do anymore," Steve tried to chastise her, but it sounded empty to even his ears.

"I _know_ you feel the same way, so don't try to lecture me," she knew him too well.

"At _least_ I don't say it _aloud_ ," he stated as they crossed the grass.

"All _that_ does is prove that you're more _considerate_ than I am," Nat told him putting the items down on the table as the sun started to set in the distance.

* * *

"Are the both of you drunk?"

Sam looked around the dark kitchen until his heavy eyes fell on Steve standing at the bottom of the stairs.

Teagan tried to stifle a laugh before exclaiming a bit too loudly, "Maybe!", causing him to follow suit. That had to answer the question.

They had been down here for probably about an hour now after he had been woken up by the sound of a gentle knock on the wall. Teagan had another nightmare and had used his sign that she needed company. The two of them had silently crept downstairs and she had proceeded to make the two of them Irish Hot Toddies. They were now on either their third or fourth one.

Or was it the fifth?

"You're just jealous since you can't get drunk anymore," Sam slurred while finishing off the last of the flavorful dark liquid in his cup.

"Of course it has nothing to do with the two of you loudly giggling at four a.m. and waking me up," Steve pointed out taking a seat at the table.

Teagan reached over to the stove top, taking the small kettle off the low-heat burner that was keeping the whiskey warm for the next helping. Grabbing a clean mug from the drying rack, she began to assemble three more servings with the ingredients on the table, before pushing Steve his own to join them.

Raising her mug, Teagan offered the toast, "Here's 'ta a randy leprechaun taking too good an interest in Keeling bum!"

Sam didn't bother stifling the laugh as he recalled their conversation around drink number two or three.

Without hesitation, she began to slam down the entire mug as he joined her. Finishing off his own, they both looked over at Steve, who was watching them very wide eyed.

"Ya had to be here earlier," Sam explained, to which Steve jerked his head before going after his own drink.

"So, I'm going to guess that neither one of you are going to be up for our morning run in a few hours," Steve pointed out.

Teagan's face went all serious as she leaned forward over the table to tell Steve, "You'll be lucky if I wake up at all tomorrow," as she started to prepare the next round.

* * *

"What? That's it? Where's the rest of it?" Teagan anxiously asked sitting upright on the couch, her eyes wide with anticipation. The music from the season finale of Game of Thrones was still going on the television screen.

"Still being filmed," he told her, sitting up himself to stretch his arms over his head.

From his right side, Sam listened to a string of curses in Gaelic as Teagan animatedly swung her arms around before falling back on the couch with a cute pout.

"At least they are still going, unlike some other t.v. shows," he pointed out.

"I can't believe that Arya Stark fed that man his own sons," Steve finally managed to speak up.

"She's my favorite character," Nat chimed in, too big of a smile on her face in his opinion.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," Steve chided her. "Of course _you_ would like the assassin."

"You should too, considering who your best friend is," she goaded back at him, taunting him with Bucky.

"Arya's mine too," Teagan interjected. "I really like the idea of the list she has for who needs a bit of justice in their lives."

Sam was a bit worried about how she pointed that out. He decided to take it a bit more on the jovial side, hoping for more details before he became worried.

"Do you have a list like that? Mine only includes Ross," he put some humor into his voice.

"Keeling, of course. And then there's the base commander from where I was held," she told him. "I think that my little stunt with Ross might have been enough. But let's not forget _all_ of Hydra."

"So, then it would be useless to hand you a _small_ sheet of paper to write their names on?" Nat asked her.

"No, but it's just wishful thinking anyways."

"Teagan, do you know the base commander's name?" Steve asked, probably hoping for something else to help lead them to Hydra.

"Not really," she told him with her smile disappearing. "Keeling would call him Henry but he told me to only address him as Sir whenever he was there. I never heard a last name."

Sam might have to see if over their new few 'sessions' if he could try to talk her away from any vengeful thoughts. They could start to mar her progress if she really became too consuming for her. Hopefully, her comments were only because of the ideas in the show and that the fun-loving person he now knew she really was stayed around.

"So, what's the next show we should binge watch?" he asked, steering the conversation away from revenge. "Should we go for a comedy...?"

* * *

"Another round!" Sam called out to the waitress cleaning off the table near theirs.

The small town bar was mostly empty since it was a Thursday night, so their small group of four had the place mostly to themselves. Which was a good thing considering how he'd planned on them celebrating the first birthday Teagan would have in thirteen years. They had gone to a local restaurant, the same one they'd been to for Steve's birthday, and had dinner. But instead of a quiet night at home like he had wanted, Teagan had chosen to go out drinking, just like he figured she would.

So a few weeks ago, Sam had taken to browsing the internet to order special Irish inspired shirts for all of them to wear tonight. For Teagan, her shirt was a leprechaun pulling his pants down to expose his butt cheeks with a four-leaf clover tattoo with the words, ' _Kiss my Shamrock!'._ After finding it wrapped as a present, she had practically jumped into his lap to give him a large hug.

Steve's shirt bore the words, _'I'm not drunk, I'm Irish!_ ', which they all found amusing considering his parentage and the fact that he couldn't get drunk anymore. His own shirt displayed, ' _0% Irish_ ', and he felt it was funnily appropriate.

Nat, who was the hardest to buy for, actually had appreciated hers, which had a large four-leaf clover in the center with ' _Pinch me and I'll punch you_ ' surrounding it. That way, depending on how tonight went, nobody would be able to say they weren't forewarned if they hit on her.

"I want to thank all of ya for doing this for me," Teagan told them as the waitress walked away.

"You deserve to have a great birthday," Steve told her, raising his glass in the air as a salute before downing the little bit remaining.

"That's right," Nat agreed. "I'm just sorry that it can't be with your real family yet."

Hearing that made Sam's mood drop slightly, knowing that it meant that possibly some time in the future that Teagan would be leaving them to head back home. It wasn't that Steve and Nat weren't great to hang around, but he found himself enjoying his times with Teagan more.

"That's fine," Teagan told her. "Just being here after..."

They all watched as she paused whatever she had been about to say, just as her eyes took on a deep sadness that he had not seen from her in a long time.

Scooting his chair closer to hers, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, hoping that his closeness would help stop the upcoming emotional burst. He knew that everything she had been through was still too fresh sometimes. Just having a birthday after so long, he knew that this might be a possibility.

"We understand," he told her as she wiped away the tears before they actually fell.

A few moments passed before she spoke.

"For so long, I never thought I would even have another birthday. So, this...being here with ya," she looked around the table at everyone, "It means more than you'll ever know."

"We're happy to have you with us," Steve told her as the waitress appeared with another round of stout Guinness beers.

"And Steve," Teagan got his attention, "I don't think that I ever actually told you thanks for taking a chance and getting me out of the Raft. If you had thought me too dangerous, I'd still be sitting in that cell."

Steve looked like he had no idea how to respond to such a comment. Instead, he lifted his beer, motioning for everyone to do the same.

"Happy birthday, Teagan," he toasted, all of them clinking glasses before drinking away.

* * *

Sam sat across the kitchen table from Teagan who was lying the bread dough into the pan. In front of him was the pumpkin that he was almost finished carving out. It was Halloween, but she had insisted that everyone call it by its proper name of Samhain. On the table in front of her were three objects that she had taken to making sure they were clean before she pushed them down into the dough.

"What are you doing? Hoping to choke us to death?" he joked with her.

Sticking out her tongue at him, "I would think that a grown boy such as yourself could handle a child's game," she told him.

"What game?" he asked.

"Each of the items represents something. They'll be easy to spot when you get a slice of the barnbrack bread," she told him while moving the pan into the oven. "The coin means you'll be prosperous in the coming year. The piece of rag means just the opposite. And the ring means that you'll find romance or happiness."

Sam smiled at how Teagan lit up while explaining to him. This was obviously holiday that meant something to her. During the forth of July, they had all gone into town and watched the fireworks display, but to her they had just been pretty. They had celebrated Steve's birthday by going to a chain restaurant for their Firework Burgers, a one-day specialty. Their simple disguises kept the three of them safe, Steve's beard having filled out enough to cover his face. Then there had been her own birthday, accompanied by many rounds.

Steve and Nat were outside in the backyard working on getting the small bonfire ready for later tonight. After hearing Teagan talk about how back home people would put a lock of hair into the fire so they would dream of a future love, Nat had practically demanded that they uphold _that_ tradition. It wasn't often they saw Nat take such an interest in something, so they had all gone along with it.

"I'm still not going to eat that colcannon that you're making," he informed her, the smell of the boiled potatoes, onions, and cabbage infecting the kitchen.

"Eating it has never killed anybody that I know of," she told him while shaking her head.

"That's because some people are very good with hiding the bodies," he jested.

Later that night as they all sat around the bonfire, his flame grinned jack-o-lantern smiling at them from the porch, Teagan brought out the barnbrack bread and sliced everyone a piece, reminded them about the objects inside. Since there were only three of them, and an entire loaf, Sam was surprised when he carefully bit down on something hard. Everyone watched as he pulled the small ring from inside of his mouth.

For some reason, Sam thought that the very smug look that Nat gave him was more than a bit suspicious.

* * *

Sam hated the idea that Teagan was getting emotional as she sat on the couch looking over the file that Natasha had put together for her. But she was the one who had specifically asked Nat for the information. He had tried to point out that she might not like what she found out about her parents, relatives, and friends from back home. Teagan told him that she understood that they all would have continued on with their lives while thinking that she had died, thanks to Hydra's deception. But he could understand her wanting to know what had happened to them.

"What's the date this pictures taken from?" Teagan asked Nat as she paused on one of a larger gathering of people. Sam knew that it was her aunt and uncle's pub after seeing other shots taken from it.

"Just about a month after you went missing," Nat told her after pulling up the date.

"It's my Month's Mind," Teagan absently stated as she zoomed in on a few of the faces.

He could see the mixture of happy and sad expressions on the people attending the gathering.

"What's Month's Mind?" he asked her as she stopped to look at her parents sitting down off to the side, their expression somber.

"It's an event held one month later to remember the person who passed," Teagan started to explain to him. "Family and friends would go to mass and then gather for a meal. Seamus and Colleen held it at their pub."

Sam, Nat, and Steve sat with her as she pointed out all of the different people from the pictures. There were a lot of ones from her musician friends, including a few videos, that Nat was able to find online. They played and sang a few songs that they knew had been Teagan's favorites as others drank toasts to her. Sam could tell that she must have been very special to all of them with how many people had shown up to attend the event. They all got a kick out of seeing a video of Father Hanagan partially drunk leading the sing along for a song called _Willie Taylor_ , about a woman dressed as a man looking for her lover at sea.

Seeing a couple of young men that looked more on the hooligan side, he asked her who they were.

"Liam, Craig. Guys I went ta school with," she told him indicating each. Pointing at the final guy whose arms had large tattoos, "And that's me cousin Quinn."

"I remember you mentioning him," he stated as the three guys toasted to the belated cousin.

"He hasn'a always been on the right side of the law, but I tried to keep him in line," she told him, but sounding amused. "I don'na know how much he's in it now, but if Quinn's still alive, I'd be pretty sure he's mob now."

Sam's eyebrows perked up at hearing that. Teagan didn't sound angry about the possible criminal in the family. It was almost like she expected it, if anything.

By the end of the night, he and Teagan found themselves outside on the rocking chairs as she told him a couple of more stories of her friends, along with a few antics that they had done. She'd had an angry cry over Hydra and Keeling not long ago but she seemed to have gotten past it for now. He expected her to have a fitful sleep tonight after seeing her loved ones for the first time in so long. He hated that she was still being kept from them, but he'd heard Steve and Nat talking alone earlier about how as long as Keeling might be out there, that he knew where she might eventually go…home.

Unless Keeling was out of the picture, Teagan might never go home.

Sam then felt his own stomach roil a bit with the next thought that hit him.

A contentment that Teagan was going to have to stay with them for a bit longer…because even though he _knew_ going home was what she wanted, he was starting to like being around her and didn't want her to leave.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation - amaideach - Irish for 'silly' (found in part one).  
> Now that the group has gotten to know each other much better, time for them to actually do something, don't you think?


	18. Which is worse? Crowds or Being Alone...

**South Dakota Safe House**  
**Early Winter - 2016  
**

Steve watched over his small team while the months quietly passed as they enjoyed their strange vacation. Since arriving at the house, they'd had more downtime than he could remember having in a very long time. When the world was hunting you instead of asking for your help, that happened.

Since there was not a lot to do except exercise, read, and watch television, Nat had decided to join the three of them in their daily exercise regimen. Sam would stay back with Teagan most of the time, with Nat matching him the best that she could for a short time, making him wish Bucky was here with them. They eventually talked about how Sam and Teagan seemed to spend so much time together, and not just when she needed someone to talk to.

The three of them continued to spar to keep themselves ready in case they were needed, hoping that the Accords would eventually work themselves out. After seeing that Teagan's body was not looking as emaciated with a couple of months worth of decent meals and exercise, he'd asked Nat if she would show her a couple of simple moves that she could do for protection. The nightmares were still there every so often but Steve felt that maybe if she _felt_ stronger and could fight back that it might help her get past them.

He had explained to Nat not long after getting to the house how Teagan had been doing before her arrival and he told her about the single slip-up of her using her powers on Sam. Listening to how it had come about caused Nat's lip to twitch and an eyebrow to raise. Taking in how much time the two of them seemed to spend together, she pointed out the same thing he had already noticed.

That there was the hint of _something_ starting.

He wondered if the two of them even really noticed it or if this was just how their friendship was going to develop…very slow and steady. Sam had not had a girlfriend the entire time he'd known him. It was not like they were in a group that discouraged relationships. Nat had gotten close to Bruce before his disappearance. And there had been something different about how Wanda and Vision looked at each other back at the compound.

So Steve and Nat decided to just let nature take its course and see what the two of them let happen. Teagan needed someone to confide in, and Sam was just the type of person to help comfort another. _If_ it became more...

It was a match that he could agree with...even if he did loose the bet as to how long it would take.

Not long ago, once he confirmed with Nat that it would be safe, Sam pulled his wings out of its pack, eagerly looking forward to getting some air time after so long. He had explained to Teagan what he did, but there was no decent videos to actually show her. The three of them walked out into the back yard area as Sam told to Teagan that he was going to give her a demonstration.

Steve could tell that Sam was actually looking forward to showing off for her.

Taking off, Sam started to perform some of his basic maneuvers to get back into practice before he started doing corkscrews and dives, each one making Teagan give off delightfully happy sounds. He looked over at Nat and could tell that they were both amused by the unique flirting going on between the two. Maybe Nat was right and that there really was something happening but he didn't think that neither had acted on yet. Landing, he and Nat left the two of them outside as Sam then began to explain more of how his wings worked, as well as going into another story from a mission.

Now, he was sitting on the front porch reading a book after dinner when Nat emerged from the house wearing her serious spy face. Her blond hair still threw him a bit, even though it had been months since she'd colored it. His own beard was still filling in, and was a constant joking point for Sam and Nat. Teagan pointed out that she didn't know him well enough to tease him, but commented that she was disappointed that it didn't have a hint of red at all. In fact, it was a darker brown than even he had expected it to be.

"What's wrong?" he hated to ask Nat having the feeling that something was about to interrupt their down time.

"There's a situation that might need someone to take care of it," she told him.

Giving a single hard huff, "Wouldn't that be up to the U.N. and the Accords now?"

Sitting down, she simply stated, " _If_ they actually knew about it."

"What's going on then?" knowing that her comment wasn't good and putting down his book.

"A friend of mine whom I'm still in contact with just informed me of a terrorist cell is in the process of smuggling a load of Chitauri-based weapons into the country in a few days. As far as he knows, not a single person in any intelligence agency that can do anything about it even knows it's happening. He thought that we might be interested."

"Is this a friend that I know?" he asked wondering if it was Tony.

Shaking her head, she told him, "No, he's from a time before the Avengers even met. But I do trust his intel. So…feel like getting out of that rocking chair, grandpa, and busting a few heads?"

Steve couldn't help but smile since he had actually been feeling just like doing that. He had enjoyed his time off but he didn't like the idea of just sitting around doing nothing.

Then began the other concerns.

"That about Teagan? Would we be coming back here?" he asked.

"We'll be heading to Europe. Once we are overseas, it might be a good idea stay over there for a while. Trying to sneak in and out of the country might be a bit risky. She'll have to come with us," Nat pointed out, to which he agreed with. Then she asked him out of the blue, "Do you want to call Tony in on this?"

He had no idea how Tony had taken his peace offering note and phone. For all he knew, they had been deposited into a trashcan moments after being opened up. He could only hope that they had not been.

"No," he told her standing up to walk over to the railing. Watching the last sunset he'd see from this location, "I saw on the news that he was expected to be in Washington again this week to deal with more Accord fallout. I also know that he's probably been working on his next suit considering what happened in Siberia. I can't even guess how things are between him and Pepper right now. He has enough on his plate that we don't need to load on any more."

Nat gave him a weak smile as he then went inside to tell Sam and Teagan to pack up and be ready to leave in the morning.

* * *

**Spanish Town - North-West Region**  
**Weeks Later**

Their first mission a few weeks ago had gone very well, Sam thought, the three of them managing to confiscate the alien weapons before they were sold. They were turned over to someone that Nat knew who would keep them safely locked away. It had been so quick of a trip that they were only gone a few hours, leaving Teagan alone in their new safe-house at the edge of a small Spanish town.

It was the first time that Teagan had been truly alone since being freed from the Raft and Sam felt that she had handled it very well. She had been able to distract herself with a book and then cooking a meal hoping they would return in time for dinner, which they had. When they had left that morning, he could see that she was tense and he guessed that look of worry on her face had not disappeared until they walked back up the small path to the villa from the Quinjet's landing area in the nearby grove of olive trees.

Now, after getting a bit of cabin fever himself, he had invited Teagan to go with him into the nearby town just to walk around a bit. Nat had been the one to gather supplies upon arrival since she spoke Spanish, so he was curious as to the local atmosphere. The two of them together could pull off a tourist look without anyone being suspicious.

"Are you sure that it's safe?" Teagan asked him as they arrived at the edge of the small town. With it being such a nice day, they had decided to walk together from their new safe house only a mile away out further into the mountainous countryside.

"I wouldn't have brought you if I wasn't sure that it was," he told her as she started to slow down, glaring up at the outlying stucco buildings, searching windows for a familiar face. Reaching out without thinking, he placed his hand at the small of her back, making her head sharply turn towards him. Realizing he had been about to wrap his arm around her, he dropped his arm, worried about what she would think of him. "Calm down, you are safe with me. Nothing is going to happen. Just like back in the states when we would go into town for ice cream."

That brought out the smile that had been hiding. Sam knew how much Teagan enjoyed their trips together...probably as much as he did.

And it seemed that she was not upset with the too familiar touch he had just given her...the one that had felt so nice.

Especially in the past few weeks, there had been so many times that he wanted to say just a bit more to her, to express the growing attachment that he had been feeling. He knew that after what she had been through that there was probably no way that Teagan would look at him, or maybe any other man, in any type of romantic way for a very long time.

But with each emergence of more of her true personality, Sam found himself drawn to Teagan.

Technically he was not helping her in any official capacity, only as a friend. Back at the V.A., it would have been very frowned upon to have any type of a more one-on-one personal relationship with someone who had been through what Teagan had. It could been seen as a setback to her being able to move forward with a new life. Sam understood this, which is why he had been holding back with showing any type of more personal attachment. There had only been the occasional slip-ups, such as with his hand a few moments ago.

Slowly they walked through the streets, taking in the small corner parks and learning where any stores or restaurants they may want to go to later on were located. It was currently about mid-afternoon and the street were not very busy at all with it being during siesta hours. Most businesses were already closed, but they could see that a lot of the restaurants were filled with people having meals or snacks.

"Want to get something to eat?" he asked Teagan as they emerged from between rows of houses into one of the towns many plazas.

"Maybe in a little while," she told him. "Unless you can't wait."

"I'm good for now, too," he told her, and so they just started walking.

Sam had found a new habit of trying to make sure that she knew they could get food at any time she wanted. He noticed back at the old safe house not long after getting there, that Teagan had every so often taken a pack of dried fruit from the snack cabinet. At first he thought she was eating them as a late night snack, but the empty packages never showed up in the trash.

Eventually, one evening while they had been talking while sitting on the front porch steps, he'd asked her about them.

Sam had started by asking if she had found one that she liked more than others, saying he'd make sure to get more of that kind. After a few moments of embarrassment at being caught, Teagan admitted that she actually had them stashed around her room in case they locked her inside if she made another mistake. She admitted that the only place she figured they would lock her up would be her bedroom. Sam was crestfallen at hearing that even after living with the three of them for a few weeks that Teagan was still cautious of once again becoming a prisoner.

After confirming with Natasha that he wanted to make a change to help Teagan understand that they were not a threat to her, he had gone into town for a special purchase. That afternoon, Sam had swapped out the easy to pick door handle with one that could not be locked. Then he installed a small flip lock on her bedroom door's interior.

This way, she not only saw that they could not lock her inside, but she could slide the bolt into place to keep them out. Sam knew that it was not much, but Teagan has been so happy with the small change and given him a tight hug.

That had been the first time that Sam had realized how nice she felt in his arms, a very confusing feeling.

Ever since, he noticed that Teagan would favor being closer to him than the others when just gathering around the table or den to watch television at night. He considered that she was just doing it subconsciously since he was talking her through things while trying to help her.

But he also knew that there were times that he searched her out consciously.

Yes, he was starting to enjoy the confusing times.

Walking through the street, they talked about anything that came to mind, as long as it was not about her past. After about an hour, he noticed Teagan pause at the end of a cut-through alleyway.

"Let's go this way," she told him, her attention focused on the path before her and not on her hand which had easily found his to lead him.

"Why?" he asked as they started to move as one.

"Don't you hear it?" she asked him with a warm smile.

Now knowing to listen for something, he heard the sound of string music on the wind.

Sam smiled as she led him through the alley, stopping at the next street to listen for their next direction. Turning to the right, in no time at all, Teagan had them standing off to the side of a pair of street performers playing away on their guitars. Watching them as they played, Sam realized that one of the men was actually blind, his pupils white as he glared at a spot over their heads.

Since they had nowhere to be, he stood with Teagan's warm hand in his as they listened to a couple of songs. She didn't either mind, or had not noticed, but unless she made the first move, he just wanted to enjoy her touch. When she smiled up at him, and then gave his hand a small squeeze, Sam knew that she had just given him her approval.

They were still standing there as siesta came to an end, shops opening back up and those who had gone inside during the heat of the day coming back outside. With more people on the streets, a small crowd began to form around them also wanting to hear them play.

As another song started, Sam noticed that Teagan's grip on his hand was firmer than it had been. Glancing at her, he saw that her eyes seemed to be darting around too fast and that her breathing had become slightly erratic.

Leaning so that he could whisper into her ear, "Teagan, is something wrong?"

Her ragged voice began, "I...can't...too many..."

Trying to figure out what she meant, Sam then carefully paid attention to their surroundings.

While listening, the small group of others had encompassed them on all sides, save for between them and the performers. Now, there were people blocking Teagan on all sides that she could leave from. Sam then understood that she was feeling too closed in.

Recalling also what Bucky had mentioned long ago concerning being in larger group, that any stranger could be Hydra, Sam knew that he needed to get her out of there. Teagan could be at the beginning stages of a panic attack.

Making sure that he had a firm grip on her hand, Sam turned around to face the older man standing right behind him.

"Perdón," he firmly but politely pardon them as he then took a step forward which made the man step aside. He felt only a moments hesitation before Teagan was walking right behind him.

Heading back to the same alleyway they had gotten to this street from, he led her without stopping. Once they had entered it and traveled a short distance away from the street, Sam turned them so he could talk with Teagan face to face.

"Teagan, it's alright. We're alone in the alley. There's nobody around us to worry about," he told her as his hands came to rest on her reddened cheeks. Her eyes were now a hint glazed over, as if she were not really seeing him. "Just take deep breaths until you are feeling calm again. I'm right here and we are safe."

He was not sure, but Sam was almost certain that it was him saying the word 'safe' that made Teagan break down. Her hands came up to latch onto the sides of his shirt, her fist holding on tight so that he could not move. Her forehead fell against his upper chest as she quietly cried. His own hands wrapped around her back, gently patting it trying to comfort her.

"I'm sorry I didn't notice that we were being crowed in by so many people," he told her, feeling bad that he had not done a good enough job at being her protector. He was supposed to watch out for anything that might upset her, but instead he had become distracted by just being with her and enjoying the moment.

"I shouldn't have acted like that...I have to be stronger," Teagan managed to finally tell him after a few short minutes. "It's just been so long..."

"No matter what, I should have watched out for you better," he admitted while silently cursing himself for not paying better attention.

"No," she lifted her head to look at him, "You shouldn't have to. I feel so useless."

"You're not useless," he put his finger under her chin to lift her pouty face. "You've been through a traumatic experience, sheltered away for so long without any type of health human contact. It's only natural that you would become uneasy in larger crowds, especially when they are strangers."

"I didn't even notice them at first," she started to tell him. "But then someone bumped my arm, and a moment later so did another, and I thought..."

When she couldn't finish, Sam used Bucky's comment, "You thought they might be Hydra."

Teagan's eyes watered up again as she nodded in agreement. Needing to comfort her, Sam pulled Teagan back into the same kind of firm hug that she had given him that had made him feel so much better. How unprofessional was it that he liked how she felt in his arms? He held onto her until the tension in her body began to lessen, her crying shakes coming to an end.

"Do you want to head back to the villa?" he offered her a way out.

"No," she was quick to respond. Hesitantly pulling away from him, Teagan wiped the tears from her eyes, and firmly told him. "I can't just run away when something like this happens. I need to keep it together."

He was glad to hear that she sounded to eager to try and go out into the public again. Sam knew that a lot of others may have taken him up on the offer to just quit for the day.

"Is that the same Irish stubbornness coming through that Steve has?" he offered with a smile.

"Might'n be a wee bit, my lad," she teased him in a very heavy accent.

Hearing her talk like that made him laugh and once she had calmed, he took a hold of her hand and started to lead her back to the street.

"Come on, my favorite leprechaun, let's go and find something to eat then," he told her, squeezing his hand just enough to be encouraging.

* * *

Closing her bedroom door, Teagan leaned her back against it as thought about what Sam just looked like standing just a foot away as he told her good night. He was wearing his usual exercise shorts and a t-shirt that looked to be a size too small. Did he mean to wear clothing that showed his muscled arms and chest? Not that she would ever tell him to stop.

Once again, she had almost suspected that Sam was about to lean over and give her a kiss. Was she reading too much into his attention towards her?

Today in the town, when he had begun to freak out from the people bumping into her, it had been Sam that had managed to calm her down. He had sounded upset that she had gotten that way and even tried to take responsibility for it happening. With all nice things that he had already done for her, there was no way that she would ever blame him for her getting upsest like that.

All of her problems stemmed from Keeling and his mistreatment of her.

That was probably why even though Sam gave her that look at her bedroom door every night that nothing ever came of it.

Why would someone as kind as Sam ever want to deal with the horde of problems that was her past?

Turning on the small lamp that Sam had gotten for her nightstand after arriving and not finding one, she crawled into bed and told herself to try and dream of Sam instead of the normal nightmare of being locked back in her cell.

If this level of friendship with Sam was the most that she would ever get in the real world, she told herself that the least her mind could do was dream of more.

* * *

**Spanish Villa**  
**Early Spring- Months Later**

Teagan knew as soon as she woke up again that she was on the verge of a panic attack.

_Keeling was not standing at the foot of her bed._

Not only did she have the lamp on but she'd also turned on the light attached to the ceiling fan after her last nightmare. This was already her third one and the clock told her it wasn't even 1 a.m. yet.

Before she even set a foot on the tiled floor, Teagan sat quietly in the center of the bed to just listen to the sounds of the villa.

The clicking of the ceiling fan as it turned, a drip from the faucet in her sink, the rustling of trees outside from the wind blowing. Nothing that shouldn't be here.

And with three people missing, she could feel a hollowness all around her from their absence.

_Why weren't they back yet?  
_

The other's had left before sunrise this morning to deal with some weapon manufacturers in the northern African desert, but they had to find their base of operations first. That meant that Sam and the others were going to be gone for at least the entire day, much longer than any of the other handful of missions they had done recently.

And since she was not a combatant of any kind that there was no reason for her to go with them. So they had taken off in the Quinjet just after breakfast, and she had found herself alone for the first time since being freed from the Raft.

_Had they been captured?_

Teagan managed to distract herself fairly well today, she had thought.

Laying on the back patio in the sun for a while, until she became worried that someone could be watching her through binoculars, and headed inside.

Reading a book on her tablet in the den, before hearing a noise from outside and heading upstairs to look out of every window possible for people surrounding the villa.

_She had to try and be strong._

Cooking dinner and then eating it while walking around the house to double check that every door and window was locked.

Watching the sun set from Nat's room, then making another round of the villa but this time also pulling down any shade or closing any curtain she found.

_There was nobody in the house but her...right?_

Now, as she made her way to the bedroom door, she stopped to verify again that there was nothing to hear. Stepping into the hallway, she turned on every lamp or light that she found as she traveled to the stairs. Listening again before heading down, she walked the entire ground floor turning on more lights so the entire villa was flooded with light. It had taken a few minutes of searching, but she had eventually found the switch for the exterior security lights that Natasha had in place.

Reaching the kitchen, the pulled a large carving knife out of the drawer where they were kept. It was not like it was the best choice, but she didn't want to take the chance of accidentally pulling the trigger of the gun Sam had left in her nightstand. Her hands were shaking enough so that holding that weapon could result in a misfire. She'd feel like an even bigger idiot when the others finally got back if that happened.

_If Hydra came for her, she wouldn't be able to stop them anyways._

Heading over the fridge, Teagan grabbed one of the bottles of beer that she and Sam had gotten from the store yesterday. It was a local brand and was not as strong as what she was used to but right now she needed something to settle her nerves before they got any worse.

Two hours later, she was still sitting at the kitchen table when she heard the sound of footsteps and people calmly talking.

_Hydra would be silent and not give her an alert._

She knew that they were probably disapprovingly glaring at the villa that was lit up like a beacon but it was the only way that she could feel safe.

Lifting up the knife from next to three empty beer bottles, she made her way to the window to see Sam, Nat, and Steve walking up to the villa still in their uniforms. The tenseness in her shoulders vanished and she felt like crying for how weak she had felt the past few hours.

Sam was the first through the door and quickly spotted her pathetic weapon of choice. With a smile, "Please tell me that you're about to cut a slice of cake."

"I..." her eyes darted for only a second to Steve and Natasha who now were inside, and embarrassingly replied, "No, no cake."

"Come on," Sam told her, taking the knife from her hand and putting it back into the drawer. Neither Steve nor Natasha said anything, which would only have made her feel worse. Wrapping his arm around her upper one, "It's late and I need a shower before crawling into bed for three days."

Teagan let him lead her back upstairs to their bedrooms, never once saying anything that would point out what an idiot she must have looked like when they first saw her.

Instead of depositing her at her door, Sam led her into to his bedroom which had two single beds in it. Pulling down the covers of the one he had not slept on, his hand patted it to indicate for her to sit down, which she did.

"Did you try and get some sleep tonight?" he asked sitting on his own bed across from her.

She just nodded while focusing on his dirty boots he was removing.

"Bad dreams?"

Another nod.

"Then how about you take this bed for tonight? Maybe being around someone and knowing we're back might help you get some sleep. And if you wake up again, I'll be right here to help you," he told her.

"How can you put up with me?" she asked in a weak voice.

"I'm not 'putting up with you'," he told her, reaching across to take her hand. His was so warm. "I'm your friend, Steve and Nat are your friends. Friends help one another. You've just had a lot to deal with and trying to help ease that burden is what friends do for one another. Go ahead and get comfortable. I'll be back in no time."

She gave a nod and scooted her body so that she was under the covers, but she just couldn't focus anymore. Sam was walking around the room getting out a set of clothes to wear after his shower. He was talking the entire time telling her about the mission, but she just couldn't keep the meaning of the words in her head. It hurt too much to try and concentrate on them.

Finally he left to go get cleaned up.

She was sick of being this way, useless and helpless compared to the rest of them. They could do such extraordinary things, and she couldn't even go into a crowded grocery store without panicking. There had been times when she would walk into a room and a conversation would either suddenly stop or she could hear an immediate change of topic.

They were walking on eggshells around her still. Because they saw how fragile she still was.

Maybe that was why Sam seemed to look at her the way he did sometimes...maybe it was pity. She just hadn't recognized it.

Rolling over to face the wall, she was still awake when Sam finally returned, turning off the overhead light while leaving on a lamp.

But knowing that they were back, and that Sam was between her and the door so anyone after her would have to pass him, Teagan finally felt comfortable enough to fall asleep.


	19. Teagan Gets Her Moment To Shine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update Info: With December being so hectic for me, Christmas and traveling, I'm going to slow down with the twice-a-week postings. Today, and for the next four weeks, I will only be posting on Mondays. Once my schedule calms back down in January, I'll resume the Monday & Friday uploads then. The story will not be abandoned, I just will not have time for editing the already written chapters.

**Unknown Hydra Base**  
Early Spring - 2017  


Marcus Keeling found himself once again walking through the abandoned halls of his project's level at the Hydra base. Ever since Teagan had been taken from him, this small level had no reason for being used. With the fall of Hydra, their numbers had significantly dwindled so it had remained unused over the past three years.

It was the smallest floor in the underground complex with only a few necessary rooms on this side…cells to hold prisoners, an interrogation room for those being questioned, a training room for doing obedience procedures, a guard room, and his office along with another smaller one for a single staff member to compile reports. Back when he was in demand from Hydra command, he had been assigned to occupy this entire level for Project Cherry Tree.

And now, it gathered dust.

On the far side of it was a larger residence suite where he had lived quite comfortably. For always being at the ready to work or travel at a moment's notice, Hydra had compensated him well. His personal space was nicely decorated with a large sitting den, bedroom, bathroom, and private kitchen. He never needed to leave if he didn't want to. But after losing his tool, no longer gave him a reason to be here and he'd been moved up to the standard barracks. He'd heard others whisper that his accommodations had been better than the base commanders.

At the end of the hallway where he was heading was the small, black room where he kept his favorite tool…Teagan.

Her cell was specially designed in the exact opposite of his own private spaces, nothing less than harsh and cruel. He had made sure that it was devoid of all stimulus so that she would look forward to her time working for him just to get out of there. Even being levels below the surface, he had made sure to keep her restrained at all times to prevent any type of escape attempt. Never was she even allowed to glimpse the outdoors to give her a spark of hope of freedom. Preventing her from knowing where she was did similar. She had traveled the globe and never even knew it, even heading back to Ireland twice. Marcus figured that if Teagan knew she was close to her home, then she might make the effort to at least try.

When not located up in medical, the interrogation room, or the training room, Teagan was securely bound in the cell for countless hours on end. The only real rest periods she had were the times when he allowed her to sleep on the hard bed. To keep her disoriented when she was not needed, he made sure to feed her meals at irregular intervals during the day and night. Sometime she would have twelve hours between feedings, others four. He made sure there was no pattern to her captivity so that she could not plan an escape.

Sleeping times were handled the same way to help keep her pliant. After a year, he had a speaker installed near the security monitor that was set to beep at random intervals through the entire day. After long constant stretches, past any time she would have tried to keep up with counting out seconds, the timing would change to be less than a minute and then up to four. For her, time would have no meaning in the cell.

Only when she worked and obeyed him would she find any semblance of structure. And it had worked wonderfully for eleven years.

The only change he'd ever had to make was rotating the guards on this level every month after one of the younger male guards, Julian Miller, had started to question the overly harsh conditions Teagan was enduring. Marcus had suspected something was going on by the extra hours he found Teagan allowed to use the raised concrete platform with a thin mattress to sit or sleep and the larger meal quantities when she'd been fed solid meals. His suspicions had been confirmed as he watched young Miller talking with her as he fed her a meal instead of making her eat like a dog, as he had been instructed to do. Teagan was not to receive any type of humane treatment.

After being on this assignment for a few months and caring for his charge, Miller had taken his grievances to Commander Henry Bradshaw. He'd argued that if Hydra treated Teagan as more of a friend than a prisoner, then she might be turned to work for them willingly. The fool had wanted to move her to an upper level where agent boarding was, stating she'd be grateful for the chance at some freedom and help Hydra in exchange for better treatment.

Unfortunately for Miller, Henry was more inclined to agree with him that Teagan was too stubborn to be even given the chance.

So with Henry's approval, Marcus had the naive agent brought into interrogation with her already waiting anxiously, secured to her seat at the table like normal. They'd then had the reasoning for them both being there explained, that Miller wanted her cared for better. There was no denying the hopeful look in her eyes at someone, even a Hydra agent, trying to help her.

It had been a great satisfaction to see her become so distraught after he'd then personally shot Miller in the stomach.

It had taken a short time for him to bleed out, all the while Teagan was chained to the table so that she could only watch. By the time he was almost gone, Miller was cursing at her for being the reason behind his death.

After leaving her with the corpse for an hour, he'd informed her that _this_ would be what she should expect if she tried to have any more _friends_. He knew how she weighed others' deaths' on her conscious and after that, he found it amusing how she'd then distanced herself from the other guards on purpose. To push her even further, he'd told them to have her beaten for even making bodily contact of any kind with them, isolating her even more.

Now, reaching her cell, his hand-print permitted the metal door to unbolt, allowing him to pull it open. A smile crept over his face as he looked at the unused item waiting for Teagan to come back. The metal arm-binder which he was so fond of still hung from the chain on the ceiling. It too was a special design of his own creation. Once on and the bolts tightened down, there was zero chance of her getting free of it and escaping.

He'd had all of her restraints specially made with pain in mind, to help break away her willpower. She had been so headstrong when she had come into his possession that he'd made sure she understood that _he_ was the one in charge, the one to obey. It had taken a lot of threats and beatings but he was sure that it was his ability to keep her _secured_ that finally made Teagan realize that she was never getting free from them… _him_.

That is, until the day that damn drunk driver had helped to steal her away.

Lifting up the leather object in his hand to stare at it, Marcus smiled at the new sensory deprivation hood that he'd acquired to use on Teagan once Hydra had decided to give him the authority to recapture her. Even with it being close to a year already, he knew that it was only a matter of time before they found proof of her release from the Raft. Then, she would be returned to him. She had been gone for too long. She'd been given a taste of freedom and he was sure she would be just as stubborn as when she first arrived…if not worse.

Her time on the Raft had been easy compared to how he was going to have to break her a second time.

Starting by introducing her to the new item.

Since the original headgear had been lost with her, and he had no idea if Captain America would still be using it on her, he needed something to replace the missing item. He'd also been intrigued by the usefulness of this one. He'd considered this change might be useful once she was back. Teagan would be more under his control now. He wanted her cell and restrains all ready to go for when she was eventually found.

The metal headgear she had worn before had worked fine to prevent her from seeing and talking during transport, but he'd always hated that it secured as one piece. If he wanted to see the fear in her eyes, the gag would no longer be locked in the back. This new hood was even more restrictive, tightly fitting over her entire head while having a separate blindfold, gag, and even ear padding to stop sound from penetrating it. The feeding tube would fit through one of the two nose air holes, leaving the other for breathing.

Knowing how much she hated the darkness, Marcus figured that she would be hysterical quite often at first until she figured out how to calm herself...by obeying him.

As long as she was calm, her air flow would only be partially restricted. If she panicked, there was a chance she'd fall unconscious from air loss.

And he would make damn sure that she _did_ panic.

Sitting it down on the cot, running his hands over the leather straps and stays, he wondered how long it would be until Teagan was brought back to her rightful home, here inside Hydra…with him. He couldn't wait to see how well the new device worked to help bring her back under his thumb.

He had missed his tool so much for the past three years.

* * *

**Somewhere over Europe**  
Late Spring  


Teagan found herself on the jet _again_ as the group was in the back checking their weapons and putting on their suits. The same contact from the mission months ago that had taken from South Dakota had called Natasha again last night about an even bigger problem than before, which is why they were heading out...this time with her tagging along once again.

Days after finding her waiting in the kitchen with a knife, Natasha had gotten another lead. Having them tell her that there was another mission that they needed to take care of that would keep them away for many hours...it was devastating. Teagan knew she couldn't go through the same paranoia like she had that last time.

Once Steve and Natasha had gone to discuss the mission details in another room, Sam had taken a seat next to her on the couch. Having him ask her what was wrong, knowing that at least he had noticed the change in her posture, she didn't even try to hide her emotions. It had been so hard to admit that she didn't think that she could be left alone for too long, breaking down and crying for her loss of security and self-reliance. She had thought that she had been doing so well up until then. Sam had wrapped his arms around her and said that he would figure something out and that she would never, hopefully, have to feel that way again.

So after talking with the others, explaining her fears, they agreed that since they would be gone for longer than a few hours, that she would at least join them on the Quinjet for the trip. And for a handful of missions, that is what had happened.

So now as they headed to deal with this new situation, she was once again to remain inside the jet with the stealth mode on and wait for their return. On the first mission, Sam had shown her how to work the computer screen which would link the system to their earcoms so that she knew what was happening. He had also linked his visor so that she could see from his point of view.

Just sitting idly by worked to keep her from being worried about them being injured, captured, or killed. She knew the moment something happened.

"This is what ya used to do for a living? Just go from place ta place solving problems?" Teagan asked as she watched the mountains off to the side of the jet pass by. They were flying at an incredible speed but yet she didn't feel any force at all. Natasha tried to explain something about Tony and Shield having figured out inertial dampers but it sounded like she didn't even fully understand her explanation.

"Pretty much," Sam told her coming over to place a hand in the small of her back. She bit her lip to hide the smile that threatened to appear.

Even if it was just her imagination, the idea of him actually liking her always helped to raise her spirits.

Some nights, they would sit on the rooftop patio of a small cantina, listening to music coming from a nearby concert hall. Sam had asked if she wanted to give it a try, but after considering how many people would surround her, she told him that she didn't think she could handle it just yet. Instead, they opted for a starry sky to accompany the musical sounds.

And almost every night, Sam would walk her to her bedroom door, stand there for just a few moments too long, before telling her goodnight and walking to his own bedroom next door. Once she was alone, Teagan wondered if Sam was thinking about the same thing that she was…a kiss. Her fear of Keeling would eventually emerge, but lately it was not as strong it had been that day so long ago in the bathroom back in South Dakota.

Could she really consider having any type of relationship? Is that what Sam wanted, or was he just being nice to her? That would be a question for later…

Right now, they were heading towards a larger Mediterranean town which was a major tourist destination but that's what made this trip worse. A small group of terrorist had managed to get their hands on some type of Chitauri bomb. Natasha had tried to explain the devastation it could cause, but it was the casualty count in the triple-digit thousands that made the point for her. It was scary to her that the world needed people like Sam, Steve, and Nat, but had decided that maybe the possible property harm the small team might produce was somehow worse than the number of human lives lost. Natasha had explained what had happened in Lagos, but Teagan knew it could have been a lot worse if the terrorist had gotten away with the virus, or manage to exploded this bomb.

"We're here," she heard Natasha's voice pull her from her thoughts. "Sam, one minute."

Teagan walked back over to where Sam was standing with his pack already on. Seeing her approach, a smile appeared that showed her the cute, small gap between his front teeth. How could something so silly be so adorable?

"You going to be alright?" he asked her.

"Isn't that what I'm supposed to ask you?"

"Just like last time...stay in the jet, and don't open the door for anyone who knocks," he told her as the ramp began to lower.

Giving an overly dramatic sigh, "You sound like a parent," she joked with him.

"Trust me," he then smiled, "I _definitely_ don't want you to see me as a _parent_."

As her mind was trying to register the possible meaning of his statement, Sam walked to the end of the ramp, turned to look at her with a grin plastered on his face, spread his arms wide…and fell backwards out of the jet.

A quick panic filled her, and Teagan moved as if she would be able to grab him before he fell to his death.

Strong hands grabbed her upper arms to stop her from getting close to the ramp.

"He's fine," Steve told her. "He was just showing off for you."

"Showing off?" she asked as a gray and red streak shot back past the open ramp.

Moving to the front of the jet where Natasha was piloting, she watched as Sam spun away heading towards the tall, abandoned apartment building so that he could cover the outside. She had not paid too much attention as they planned, but it looked to be over ten stories tall, maybe a few more.

"Looks like _someone_ has a bit of _motivation_ today," Nat's voice sounded more than slightly amused.

"I wonder _why_?" Steve was now next to her, and she saw the look pass between the two of them.

"Ready to head out?" Natasha then asked Steve.

"Always ready."

"I'll put you onto the roof and then land at the construction site next door. It's Sunday and it should be empty," she told him as Steve began to move towards the ramp. Teagan noticed that his uniform was looking a bit more ragged since the first time she had seen it. Now, after their missions, there was nobody to do any repairs to it and it was starting to show. He stood there for only a few seconds before Natasha yelled out, "Now!"

That was when Steve jumped out, also without a parachute. The jet was still moving forward and she was able to look out the back to see him do a rolling landing before standing upright.

"There is no way that _anyone_ should be able to do that," she commented to nobody in particular.

"And he wasn't even the one _trying_ to show off," Natasha then mumbled. A few seconds later, they landed on the ground not far away from the building which Steve was atop of. "Alright, Teagan. I'm heading out. Cloaking is on and I've left the comms open so that you can hear all of us. If something happens, press this button to talk with us. Otherwise, just stay inside until we get back."

Considering the new black fighting suit with green vest that Natasha was securing her weapons on, Teagan considered the comment a bit funny since she wasn't even dressed for any type of fight. She had gone the exact opposite of the others by wearing a pair of jeans, sneakers, and a short-sleeved, green t-shirt with ' _póg mo thóin'_ written on it. Sam had found it somewhere and given it to her as a Christmas present. When Steve had asked what it said, the two of them had burst out laughing seeing his expression when he learned that it meant ' _kiss my ass'_ in Gaelic, then chastising Sam for getting her something so vulgar. But it had quickly become her favorite shirt.

"I can do that," Teagan told her as Natasha nodded her head before leaving and closing the ramp behind her.

Taking up a seat at the security console, she watched the small screen which was the feed of Sam's visor. He was still flying overhead and she could see him watching Steve as he disappeared into a door, before moving on to find Natasha approaching from the ground level. The next few minutes were a bit surreal, like watching an action movie unedited.

Steve and Natasha called out positions of enemies as they moved towards each other through the building, Steve from up high, and Natasha from the ground. Sam's visor showed him examining rooms through the windows. As a lorry began to emerge from an underground garage, he took a couple of shots in the engine, stopping it so that it rolled dead, crashing into a pile of stone from the job-site she was at.

From over the comm, gunfire continued to almost drown out the others, but they never sounded worried or afraid. Eventually, Teagan noticed that the loud, popping sounds of gunfire were almost completely gone. Sam was continuing to circle the building, giving aerial support by firing through the windows whenever a teammate was pinned down.

" _Steve, I found it_ ," she heard Natasha say as three more shots followed. Next came the sounds of punches, grunts, and heavy items falling to the floor. " _Looks like they don't want to give up the package_."

" _I'm a floor above you. Give me thirty seconds_ ," Steve told her as Sam then focused in on him using heat-vision, watching him make his way down the staircase. There were a few stragglers that he knocked out along the way.

" _I might have the party cleaned up by then_ ," she told him with a final shot. " _Yep, looks like you miss it_."

" _Is it secure_?" he then asked her, but Natasha did not give an immediate answer. " _Nat, is the package secure? Are you there?"_

Before they could worry, Natasha's cold voice sounded filled with worry, "" _We might have a bit of a problem_. _Steve, Sam, get here now_!"

Teagan watched through the visor as Sam used the heat-sensor to locate her on the opposite side of the building. Circling it, he shot through the window past the small balcony, shattering it so he could fly inside. He landed in the small room right next her as Steve came barreling in through the shattered door frame. Teagan could see Natasha looking at a large, glowing, tubular object, which she suspected was the bomb they were there for. It was a mixture of alien and human technology.

" _What's wrong_?" Sam asked looking down to examine the object. Even she could then see the countdown numbers as they slowly began to descend. " _Never mind. I'm sorry I asked."_

" _Nat, can you disarm it_?" Steve asked her as Sam looked back down at the counter.

173 seconds until it would explode, taking out not only Sam and the others, but her and the surrounding occupied town.

Natasha began to examine the item for a few seconds. But Sam must have been a bit more impatient as he instead grabbed the closest conscious terrorist from the floor.

" _What's the code to disarm it_?" he demanded, lift him up so he was on his knees.

The man gave an evil grin, his nose bleeding from a previous punch and blood running over his mouth and teeth.

" _I'll never tell you_ ," he sneered. " _I'll go down in history as the man who killed Captain America and the infamous Black Widow_."

" _Dude,_ _ **we**_ _don't even_ _ **know**_ _your name, so_ _ **nobody**_ _is going to remember_ _ **you**_ ," Sam pointed out as Steve came over and lifted him off the ground with one hand by the collar, his head almost touching the ceiling.

" _The code!_ _ **Now**_!" Steve tried to demand.

" _Fuck you_!" he then spit some of the blood onto Steve's uniform, hitting the white star on his chest. " _I'll_ _ **never**_ _tell and there's no way you can_ _ **make**_ _me. You're all_ _ **dead**_!"

Sam's head jerked up to stare at Steve, whose face showed that he might just have had an epiphany. Steve then nodded his approval at the silent idea they both had shared.

" _Sam_ …" Steve started to say, but was cut off by…

" _We'll be right back_ ," Sam was now running back towards the window, leaping off the small balcony without hesitation. She could see him heading right for the jet. " _Teagan, open the ramp_!"

Standing up from the console, she hit the button so that the ramp and Sam touched the ground at the same time.

"Come on," he told her, coming over to where she was. "You get to be a superhero today."

"What?" not sure if she had understood correctly with what he was suggesting.

"You can get the code from him," Sam pointed out as he took her hand and led her a few feet away from the jet. "Will you do it?"

"I would but I can't get up _that many steps_ in time," she told him, looking up at the tall building.

"Do you trust me?" Sam then asked her, making eye contact with her through the red-tinted goggles.

"Yes," she sincerely told him.

Sam then wrapped both of his arms around her torso, just under her arms, making her latch her arms behind his head. A second later, they were launched straight up into the air, Teagan giving a quick scream as her stomach dropped from the g-force. Closing her eyes, they were only in the air for a few seconds before she felt them start to drop. Worried something had gone wrong, she opened her eyes to find them already landing on the balcony close to Steve and Nat.

"Come on, Erin," he called her by the old romantic Gaelic name associated with Ireland.

After asking about her arm tattoos one night, they'd ended up talking about her home and he must have recalled the name. She was surprised that he had remembered such a little detail about that night. It made a warm feeling suddenly appear in her chest.

Holding her hand, Sam led her closer to where Steve was still holding the terrorist. His hands had been secured behind his back and he was staring at her, probably wondering why she was there, not realizing their improvised plan.

"We only have 92 seconds left," Natasha called out to them as Sam led her forward towards the man.

Looking up at Steve to make sure that he was alright with this use of her powers, he gave her a single nod.

Teagan reached out to hold the man's head still by his cheeks. Locking her glaze with him, Teagan asked the simple question…

" _What is the disarming code_?"

A second later, the man began to rattle off, "85X423LW75," as his eyes grew wide knowing what he had just done but not understanding why.

Glancing over at Nat, she was already in the process of imputing the code as he answered, and she was able to hear the sound of something electrical dissipating moments later as the bomb disarmed.

"What that hell was that? What did you do to me, you red-headed bitch!?" the terrorist began to yell at her, lunging for her suddenly, freeing himself from a surprised Steve with the move. His body slammed into her right side, but Sam was standing behind her, catching her in one arm as he pushed the man back towards Steve with the other.

Angry that he had attacked her, Teagan quickly thought of one of Natasha's moves she'd been taught. Gripping onto his shoulders and gave him a hard, swift knee to the groin. His screech of pain as he fell to his knees made her smile.

"Níl tada níos measa na bód ina seasamh!" she sneered down at him as strong hands began to move her back and away from him.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked, looking over her body as if she'd been wounded somehow.

"I'm fine," she was only slightly stunned. Never before had anyone she'd questioned been able to retaliate. Keeling had always prevented it, more to cover his own ass than to protect her.

"What did you say to him?" Natasha then asked her as she was securing other unconscious prisoners.

Steve began to drag the man over to the wall with the others.

"There's nothing worse than a standing prick," she smiled over at her, getting a smile out of Steve.

Sam then firmly latched onto her hand and began to pull her further into the building, stopping just a room away once they were out of sight of the others. There was something in his eyes, a strange fear that she'd never seen from him. Instead of saying anything, it looked to her like he was building up his confidence for something.

Not sure what was going on, Teagan was about to ask what was wrong...when she suddenly found her lips trapped by Sam's.

It had been so long since anyone had kissed her, she had forgotten what it felt like. But then, this kiss was nothing like the ones she'd had before.

With his body still on an adrenaline high from the mission, Sam's kiss was eager and full of anticipation.

Falling with his back against the wall, he leaned her onto him, wrapping his hands over her very warm, blushing cheeks. Understanding that this was really happening, she let herself respond. Her own hands then grabbed onto the straps that held his wing-pack on him, pulling him into her even tighter. Their chests rested against each others while their lips roamed for the other's.

This was what she had been dreaming about for the past year.

The excitement of flying with him, and then facing off the terrorist, had made her body slightly tense. But now Teagan felt that she was being protectively held against him where nobody could get to her, while not feeling trapped since _he_ was against the wall. Her muscles began to relax as a most enjoyable foreign heat quickly spread through her body.

Feeling his mouth slightly open for needed oxygen, Teagan used the opportunity to slip her tongue inside. Running it over his, she then let herself lick the backside of his cute tooth gap, drawing a pleasurable moan from Sam.

A hand of his began to wrap around her neck, sliding over the shaved part of her head, his fingers making little circles over the tattoo at the base of her neck before moving up to bury themselves in her longer hair. Knowing that he was not about to move away from her if she let go, Teagan ran her hands down his chest until she found his belt. Linking her fingers around it, she pulled him hard against her waist. Sam took the hint and began to press and grind his hips, earning him a moan from her at the gesture.

Hearing the clearing of a throat, the two of them managed to pause their frenzied kisses to see a grinning Natasha watching them from the doorway to the room.

"About damn time, I almost lost the bet," Natasha first stated, making her face flush even more with actually being caught. "If the two of you have a few minutes to spare, care to get out of here since the authorities who were contacted about the gunfire are on the way?"

Natasha turned to walk back into the room, giving them a moment to compose themselves.

"I hope I didn't scare you," Sam then told her, going back to looking over her side where the man had hit her.

"Did that feel like I was scared?" she joked with him, giving him a smile.

"I can't say out loud here what that _did_ feel like," he smirked at her, taking her hand to lead her back into the room.

"Why the name Erin?" she asked, seeing Natasha and Steve heading outside on the patio.

Nodding his head toward the men lined up against the wall, "Shouldn't use your real name in public."

All of the terrorists were now bound and secured so they couldn't escape. They were also awake and watching the group make their way over to the balcony. She could hear the sounds of sirens approaching. Natasha shot a line from her arm to a higher balcony's ledge before jumping over the side. Teagan, holding Sam's hand still a bit dizzy by the height, went to the railing and watched as she was lowered to the ground.

"You got Erin?" Steve then asked, also using the code name she seemed to have adopted.

"Absolutely," Sam told him, making Steve grin before his hopped over the side. A few floors down, he grabbed a balcony to control his fall, before releasing and doing the same maneuver until he reached the ground.

Turning her smiling face to Sam, she commented as they took hold of each other again, "No wonder you hang out with Steve and Nat. That looks like fun."

"More fun than flying?" he asked wrapping his arms around her a bit nicer.

"I don't know," she told him looking over the edge. "Maybe you'll have to help me make up my mind."

Pulling her in tight, just before taking off, Sam whispered into her ear, "I can do that."

A second later, they were once again airborne, heading for the Quinjet that was already up and off of the ground, with Steve standing at the open ramp waiting for them.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad to hear from everyone that they are liking the story. I hope that this chapter met your expectations for the two of them finally getting over their worry about revealing their feelings. By now, they will have been around each other for just under a year. I know it didn't take many chapters to get here, but as I've said before, there's a lot of just hanging out that has been happening. Now we'll get to see them progressing forward. And yes, eventual 'naughty time' will follow.


	20. The Flight Home & A Heavy Talk

**Somewhere Over Europe**   
**An Hour After Leaving Mission Location**

During their flight back to the villa in Spain, Sam kept getting two curious pairs of eyes darting at him and Teagan every so often from the front of the jet. He didn't know what they expected to happen but it seemed that they were determined to catch a glimpse of anything that did.

Teagan was sitting on the floor across the way from him, reading a book that she had brought with her. And there had been a few times that her own eyes had cut up at him before that cute, rosy flush would cross her cheeks.

He wasn't sure what to make of the kiss they had shared.

There was no doubt it had a passion behind it, from both of them, and for the past few weeks, he had been trying to keep their relationship on a more friendship level. He knew a lot more now about what Teagan had gone through in her time with Hydra…more specifically, Keeling. Ever since that day in the bathroom, he had tried to make sure that he never frightened her again.

But when that man had rushed forward and tried to attack her, an instinct to protect her had taken over. Not that he hadn't been impressed by her own retaliation at the action. And it finally made him admit to himself that he wanted to be the one there for her…in every way, and definitely not just as a friend.

Leading her from the room, he wanted her away from any type of harm. Then his mind had changed gears. Still feeling the confidence of his actions from the fight, he let it override the worry that had plagued him every night when he walked Teagan to her bedroom.

The one holding him back from getting a simple goodnight kiss.

And the kiss they had finally shared had been anything but simple.

Teagan had been in no way frightened by his actions, pulling him even nearer. He had felt a warmness overtake him and he wondered how much had been his own body's heat compared to hers being so close. Even if she would even consider them getting closer, Sam knew that there was a lot that he would have to help her with. There was no way they could rush into any type of deep physical relationship. But after having getting to know her better these past few weeks, he didn't care how long it took.

* * *

From the front of the jet, Nat glanced over her shoulder at the two embarrassed teammates. After using her powers to help deactivate the bomb and save over a hundred-thousand lives, a teammate was exactly what Teagan was…if she wanted it. She would never be an upfront fighter, but today had proved she could be useful in other ways to them.

But neither she nor Steve would ever demand that she help. They would not control her like Hydra would...had. Today, Teagan had understood consequence if she hadn't helped out.

And what about that little scene that had happened afterwards?

"{So, do you think it's a good idea for the two of them to get that close?}" she asked Steve in French, trying to keep their conversation as private as she could.

Steve looked over at her from his nearby seat.

"{I can't really see any harm in it. Besides, we both saw this coming,}" he pointed out as he passed over the ten dollar bill he had lost to her for their first kiss happening in less than a year. "{Why? Do you have a concern that I need to know about?}"

"{I've never known him to even be in a relationship. And then there is what she went through during her 'holiday',}" she used vague terms so Sam and Teagan did not pick up on their names, even if they did guess they were the topic of discussion.

"{Maybe this might be good for both of them. He would never rush her into anything he thought she couldn't handle. And she's told him a lot more about what she went through than she has to us. Maybe having someone interested in her knowing her history might actually be helpful…to know that her past is just that…in the past,}" Steve told her, making Nat turn her head to look at him.

"{That's very insightful coming from someone who wouldn't even go out for coffee with a nurse,}" she grinned at him. Changing back to English so that at least Sam would understand the topic, "But at least you got one kiss from her."

Steve gave a heavy sign, now knowing that she knew about what happened with Sharron under the bridge.

"Who the hell told you? Sam or Bucky?" he asked looking toward the back of the jet at Sam.

With a roll of her eyes, "If _that's_ how you interrogate people, we have _a lot_ to work on," she informed him.

* * *

Teagan could not actually focus on the book in her hands for the entire flight. The page in front of her had been there for at least twenty minutes, and still not a single word on it had been understood. She could tell that Sam was not going to have any type of real conversation with her being so close to Steve and Nat. And even though the two of them had a brief conversation in French, she knew exactly what the topic had been. Especially when Nat mentioned Steve getting a kiss from someone.

Neither one of them seemed angry at either her or Sam, but would they wait to inform them of their displeasure once they were back on the ground? Would they point out to Sam that she could've forced him to kiss her? Would they tell her to stay away from him worried that she could manipulate him?

Not since that day in the bathroom had she ever used her power on him. In fact, she'd tried very hard to forget it even existed, not wanting to mess up again. Sam knew that she had not forced him, and she was sure that if the others asked that he would tell them so. Actually, thinking back to what Nat said when they were caught, it seemed like at least she had been expecting something to happen between them.

Looking over at Sam, his expression was very serious as he focused on the tablet in front of him. Steve wanted him to keep a record of their 'extra activities' while they were in hiding, and neither he nor Nat wanted to do the paperwork. So for the past hour, Sam had been focusing on writing down what had happened and linking his video of the fight to the file. But every so often she would catch him smiling down at her.

"5 minutes," Nat called out from the pilot's seat, letting them know they were about to land.

All of them started packing away whatever they had been using to pass the time as she felt the jet slow and then land. The villa, being at the edge of town, had a large, high wall encasing a concrete patio which was used to hide the jet. Teagan had a feeling that all of Nat's safe-houses would have a similar area, making her wonder how often someone in hiding ended up with a jet.

They all stood, and as Sam hit the button to open the ramp, Steve came to stand right next to her.

"Teagan," he said to get her attention, making her slightly panic at what might be next. "I wanted to let you know that you did good today with helping us. If it wasn't for you, a lot of people, including all of us, would be dead right now."

She actually felt her face flush with the praise she had not expected.

"He's right," Nat told her. "How did it feel to put your power to use for good?"

"Nice," Teagan told her as her as the two of them left the jet, leaving her and Sam alone for a moment.

"So how scared were you today?" Sam asked, watching Steve and Nat head inside the villa.

"I wasn't really there to do anything so it wasn't that bad. I was more scared for you three since you all were the ones in the line of fire," she pointed out to him.

"I will admit, we were damn lucky to have you with us this time," he told her as they walked out under the evening sky. The villa had a great view of the town that rose up a small mountain. "Feel like walking into town for supper and getting a drink in celebration?"

"Just the two of us?" she asked him.

"Maybe we could all go, and then hit the cantina," he told her, slightly disappointing her. She had thought he might… "Or if you want it to just be us…"

Teagan knew that she _should_ want _all_ of them to go, and she was hoping to have some time alone with Sam. But she'd just had the best day of her life in a very long time. Maybe a bit of celebration for all was called for.

"How about both? We all get some supper and then tha' two of us hit the cantina," she suggested making a grin appear on his face.

Taking her hand into his, he led her towards the house, "I'll let Steve and Nat know to get changed."

* * *

**Spain - Near Safe House**

Hours later, Sam was sipping his second beer while Teagan was on her third ale. Steve and Nat had joined them for a late evening meal before bowing out on the cantina without even being told that he and Teagan wanted to be alone. Neither one had brought up the kiss, but with the way Teagan's cheeks had flushed just after he had taken her hand to escort her to the cantina, she remembered it just as well as he did.

He was almost worried about asking how she felt about it. Maybe he shouldn't. He had taken a major step forward with the kiss. Should he wait to see if she made the next move? He knew that Teagan had been through a lot of sexual situations due to Keeling, and he was not going to push her into anything beyond what she was comfortable with. As long as he knew that she felt a bit of the same attraction that he felt, that would be enough for now.

"So, do ya think they're mad a' us?"

Teagan's words brought him back to the now. Her accent was slightly coming through her partially slurred words. They were sitting at the end of the bar on stools next to each other.

"I don't think so," he told her, getting a raised red eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure they might have known it was going to happen before we did."

"Why do ya say that?"

"Didn't you see the bill that Steve passed Nat? They made a bet that we would kiss."

Teagan picked up her ale and gave a large chug, finishing it off.

"So, are you trying to get drunk enough to forget what happened?" Sam had to ask her, hoping that wasn't it.

Teagan shook her head as she took a heavy breath.

"Tryin' ta' drown out Keeling's voice," she told him tapping the side of her head. "An' work up the liquid courage to do it again."

Not sure how to take her admissions, he let her know, "Teagan, you don't have to do anything you don't want to. If you don't feel anything like I do…"

"That's me problem," she interrupted. "I've been wantin' to for a very long time."

Sam couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face, bringing one out on hers.

Then she continued, "I just have a lot o' things ta' forget."

The tipsy admission made Sam wonder is now might be the best chance he had to get Teagan to finally tell him about the one subject that she always hesitated with…the black cell. Every time he'd tried asking her since that day in Wakanda when she first mentioned it, she always found a way to avoid the subject. He knew that there was something about it that caused her the most pain when it came to what she'd been through.

"Teagan," he started out taking a hold of her hand, "I want to talk with you about a topic and I'd like for you to not avoid it or get angry at me for bringing it up."

Her face slightly fell, but she didn't tell him to stop.

"Will you finally tell me about the black cell?"

After a moment, she slowly pulled her hand from his and began to scrub her hands over her face as she considered his request.

"I really hate that place," she bluntly told him.

"I know you do, but I've seen how dark and small areas affect you and I have the suspicion that it all links back to that cell. I want to help you get past it as much as you can, but until I know what happened there, I can't."

Something he said made her giggle a bit.

"What's so funny?" he asked seeing that she was so far not made at him.

"That's the thing, _nothing_ normally happened in there," she stated sounding amused.

"What do you mean?" he really didn't understand that comment.

Teagan reached over and took a large swig of his bottled ale before answering.

"Keeling once told me it was just a place ta' put his tool…me. Liken it ta' putting something away on a shelf until ya' needed it again. The cell was painted in plain black. There was only one small bulb high up on the ceiling. It was only on when guards needed it to be which meant that when I was alone in the cell, it was off. Day or night had na' meanin' for me. Keeling saw to that. I spent so long alone chained up with nothin' ta' do. I couldn'a even tell the right passage of time."

"Why not?" he carefully prodded.

"The beeps were not right."

"Beeps?"

"There was a beep that happened for hours on end, maybe daytime, maybe nighttime, maybe both…I'm not sure. But they never stayed right, always changing from seconds to minutes. I know that Keeling did that on purpose."

Sam tried to put together these details and the picture it was creating was hideous. That's why Teagan had been so upset at learning the length of time she'd be held by Hydra. Keeling had tortured her in a way so that she could never tell the passage of time properly. Then he decided to ask about the other comment she'd just given.

"Teagan, you said that you were chained up, but you were already in a cell."

"Another way the bastard liked ta' make sure I couldn'a escape," she told him starting to pick at the label. She had not made eye contact with him since starting to talk. "It's the reason me arms were hurt."

"What did he do?"

"There's a metal thing that my arms fit into. It would bend them behind me so I looked like I was praying. There were small, closed tubed for me hands to fold into so tha' I couldn'a touch anythin'. Sometimes I was then hung standin' in the cell with the gag and blindfold on. Feedin's were through the same tube in me nose. If we weren't leaving for a long time, he'd take the stuff off me head. I'd just be there in the dark all alone. Hours, days, weeks…I don'na know how long passed sometimes. He liked it that way."

Sam felt himself sobering up and getting sicken at the same time while listening to her tale. She had already been locked inside of a cell in a Hydra base with no way to escape, but Keeling had taken it upon himself to go a horrendous step further by torturing her. Teagan's voice was low at she continued.

"Sometimes he would let me sleep on tha' concrete bed for a few hours, but I think that was only every few days. Guards would come in an' slacken the chain so that I could use tha' toilet. That was about once a day, maybe. I wore only a elastic top and bottom that barely covered me. If I couldn't wait until they came…"

Sam knew what she was getting at. She'd have to stand in her own filth.

"If that happened, they would hose me down as I hung there. That was tha' only way I'd get clean too. Hosing me off. They would also shave me head before doin' so if me hair was too long. I actually looked forward ta' getting out of there, meaning I had ta' obey Keeling. If I was bad or fought, it would get even worse for me."

"Worse?" the strained word was pulled from his lips before he had a chance to stop it.

Giving a heavy sigh, "I guess I was wrong earlier. There was _something_ that happened in there. He'd make sure I was clean first, but if he thought I was bad…Keeling would _join me_ in the cell for a while. There were other times when he did it because he wanted to."

Sam's entire body now felt a few degrees colder than when she had started talking.

"He'd make the chain pull me arms higher, bendin' me over slightly. That's what hurt me shoulders. They were'na made to go that direction. Sometimes he'd push so hard they'd snapped out o' place. He did'na care. He'd do whatever he wanted to me as I stood there cryin' in pain. When he was done, he'd leave me hangin' for a while before someone would take me ta' medical to pop my shoulder back in. They'd knock me out ta' remove the cuff ta' do that. When I'd wake up, I'd be back in tha' cell, hooked back up. I was nothing more than his tool waiting to be used…one way or another."

"They…he didn't even give your arm time to heal before securing it back in place?" Sam asked.

"It did'na interfere with my ability ta' work for him, so no. He did'na care."

Sam reached over and placed the bottle in her hand back on the bar. Grasping onto both of her hands, he could feel they were slightly chillier than they should be.

"What you went through was a torture that nobody should ever have inflicted on you. It sounds like Keeling was a sadist who used his position inside of Hydra to achieve his own twisted form of pleasure. But even with those horrible things he did, I know that you are strong enough to overcome those deeds and not let them control you. You've fought for months against his memory, and over that time, I've seen you slowly winning each little battle."

"That day in tha' bathroom, when ya' touched me hand…I thought o' him," she admitted.

"And I know that it scared you. But I hope you can now see that I would never touch you in any way to that would hurt you. I also know that you would never use your powers on me to hurt me in any way," he told her running his thumbs over the back of her hands, bringing a smile to her face.

"I liked the kiss," she suddenly told him, her face glowing a bashful red, "and I want to be normal again but I don'na think I can go further right now…"

Hearing her trail off, Sam used a finger to make her look up at him.

"That's fine. If all I can get for now is a kiss and being able to hold your hands, that's fine. We'll take this one small step at a time. When you feel ready to go any further, you let me know. This will be at your speed."

The timid smile she gave him before speaking made his heart skip a beat, but in a good way.

"So if I pointed out that I'm sittin' here waiting for you to give me another one..."

Without hesitating at her amusing statement, Sam leaned over towards Teagan, their lips connecting in a much gentler, calmer kiss than their first. He'd expected to hear the usual taunts from the others in the bar, but thanks to being at the far end where it was darker, they had a bit of privacy.

Teagan moved her legs on the stool, turning to face him a bit more as she opened her legs so that his rested inside of hers. His hand came up to caress her cheek when he urged his tongue forward, Teagan opening her mouth to accept it. Her hands gripped onto his knees, almost trying to pull him closer to her body.

By the time they both pulled away breathless, he saw that her lips were swollen slightly with a hint of red in them. But it was the smile that they were giving him that he liked the best.

"That was nice," she told him, making him chuckle.

" _Nice_? I was going for something a bit more than nice," he grinned back at her.

"That was my second kiss in a long time, but if I rate it too high, you'll have nothin' to achieve for," she teased him.

"Then I look forward to the day that the word 'amazing' passes your lips," he told her with a grin, helping her from the stool."Come on, Erin, let's get home before Steve and Nat start to worry,"

As they walked back to the villa, hand in hand, he noticed that even though she didn't actually seem to need the support, Teagan was leaning heavily against him.


	21. Tit-For-Tat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for a bit of sexy time...

**Unknown Hydra Base  
Days After Bomb Mission**

Marcus Keeling sat at the weekly meeting bored while listening to the updates from other agents concerning projects they were involved with. He recalled how once _he_ would be the one everyone would listen to…and hopefully soon he would be again. After sitting here for far too long in his opinion, the report he was waiting on finally was read. He'd only heard a short mention of it earlier and now he was all ears as he listened.

Captain America and two members of the former Avengers had been spotted again almost a week ago taking down a small group of terrorist in Europe. Over the past year, the group had come out of hiding and taken down a couple of small groups before going back underground. All of the previous incidences being only the three of them. Like previous incidents, the terrorist cell had been turned over to NATO for prosecution considering the bomb they had been trying to detonate.

Knowing they were about to be taken out, the leader of the cell activated the Chitauri bomb in hopes of killing the famous superheroes. But it was the next part of the NATO interrogation report that got his attention, which had taken far too long in his opinion to receive a copy of.

After the leader refused to disarm the bomb, Falcon had brought back into the room an unknown female. He begrudgingly stated that she 'interrogated' him into divulging the disarming code, but he did not go into detail as to how she accomplished that task. Marcus knew _exactly_ how she'd done it and the man refused to say that he'd just 'willing' given it over.

But for her to be at that location with the group, he'd not expected that.

Was it possible that Teagan was not actually locked up somewhere? He needed to know for sure.

Interrupting the agent as he started to talk about the bomb's new location, "Does the report give a description of the female that _interrogated_ him?"

The agent looked down the conference table at him before checking another page of his notes.

"Small, thin, white with freckles, arm tattoos, red hair partially shaved at the bottom of her head, bright green eyes," he stated, making him happier than he'd been in a while.

"That's Teagan's description alright. That's Project Cherry Tree," glaring up the table at Commander Henry Bradshaw, while also making sure the new agents understood why he was interested. "Captain America seems to have decided to use her for his own purposes."

"I had figured it was her when I read the full report earlier. She does stand out in a crowd," Henry told him, sliding over a separate folder over the table towards him and ignoring the others at the table. "But we might have a problem of getting her back. If she were at a single location on lock-down, it would be easier to recapture her. None of the agencies actively looking for Captain America, Black Widow, or any of the others who escaped the Raft, that are _not_ accounted for, have had any luck at doing so."

"Not accounted for?" he ask curious about the comment.

"The one called Ant-Man, Scott Lang, was released by the United Nations since with him being a non-enhanced that he never should have been on the Raft to begin with. He worked out a plea deal and has been under house arrest in San Francisco…ankle monitor and everything. Hawkeye, Clint Barton, has been listed as 'retired' under the rules of the Accords. Location unknown, but he had not been seen at all since the escape."

"If I can work with a couple of agents, research and tactical, I believe I can come up with a plan to take back Project Cherry Tree," he confidently told Henry, earning him a few whispers from around the table, mostly from those previously questioned by him long ago. Trying to make them understand her usefulness to them, he decided to add, "Even now, we are just going on the belief that the information that is being passed along by our spies is accurate. They could also have their own agendas with the fallout we were dealt. We need to ensure the loyalty of our subordinates to guarantee they are not plotting to expose us. If nothing else, we need to use her powers on agents to ensure their allegiance to Hydra."

When Teagan had been his tool, Henry used to make sure that all agents returning from the field and information gathering had been vetted before their actions were considered accurate and loyal. All he'd done was remind him of how useful he'd once found her. Henry then gave him a single nod of the head.

"Talk with me after the meeting about what you might need," he told him as the other agent went back to reading off some other useless report.

Reaching over, he took the report on Teagan's spotting, wanting to read the full detail for himself. NATO had gone through the U.N. trying to identify the unknown female but he knew that they would never get anywhere. For all intent purposes, Teagan MacKenna had been dead for over a decade. Thanks to her stubbornness, Ross had never even found out her real name. He doubted that Ross would now inform NATO that he knew, for the most part, who she was and that he'd been holding her illegally for the past two years without informing them.

If Ross couldn't even torture a girl properly to get her name, he was sure that Hydra would eventually prevail.

The mission itself seemed like a standard breach for the freelance heroes into the building. But he carefully read how Falcon had left the room, then returned carrying Teagan up to the bomb's floor. Then after the terrorist had tried to attack her, she'd left the room with Falcon for a few minutes, returning and holding his hand.

Holding hands? He read that part a second time to make sure he seen correctly.

Then the two of them had taken off, Falcon carrying her away using his wings. He was touching her. The clothing description told him that she was dressed as a civilian, not being restrained, working with the group, and not the one in charge. That could only mean that she was _willingly_ staying with them.

Why?

Falcon.

Marcus' mind raced with the possibilities of these new pieces of information.

What had happened during her time with this group? Had she found some sort of attachment with Falcon? He'd read the file on Wilson and knew of his history of working with veterans. Could he have used his knowledge of unstable vets to somehow convince Teagan to work with them? Had he tricked her into believing that he held some kind of affection for her? And if so, how could he use that to his own advantage?

Once she was back in his custody, she was going to be just as obstinate as she had been when she first arrived. This time, he couldn't wait the numerous months it had originally taken to break her. Henry would probably only give him a matter of weeks. He would need to show quick results with her willingness to resume her position here. That meant that she needed an incentive to make her immediately obedient.

Looking at the file photo of Falcon, Sam Wilson, Marcus felt he had the perfect 'tool' to make that happen.

It looked like he needed to get one more cell ready for a visitor.

* * *

**Natasha's Safe House somewhere in Iceland  
** **Spring 2017 - Two Months After Bomb Mission**   


"I can't believe that you never even _heard_ of Chicago style popcorn, _Erin_ ," she heard called from behind her as Sam put the flat popcorn bag into the microwave.

Teagan curled further under the heavy blanket in their next safe-house on the large sparsely populated island now that the extra body heat from her couch companion was temporarily gone. The flannel nightshirt was soft, her fuzzy pants were brightly colored flowers, and her wool socks were thick, but they were no match for the inner warmth that just having Sam next to her created.

They had stayed in Spain for a few weeks before moving on to here a month ago. The cabin was in a desolate area located down a long rocky road between two steep hills. There were almost no trees and if they walked to the top of the highest hill, they had a distant view of mostly nothing but rocks and grass. The house itself was small, only two bedrooms and one bath. Without a hint of unease, Sam had suggested that she and he take the small bedroom with the bunk beds, leaving the other with two twins for Steve and Nat to share. If they found the request strange, neither had said anything.

Since arriving here, there were less than a handful of night when she had woken up from bad dreams. In fact, they had become a lot less frequent after that first kiss they shared.

Now, a lot of nights the two of them would stay up late, watch movies, or just lay in bed and talk to each other, Sam having taken the top bunk. He would always make sure to let her have privacy for changing clothes, and they had been slowly taking their kisses and touches further with each private moment. There was only one time she'd begun to panic, thinking of Keeling when she felt his arms wrap around her from behind, and Sam had instantly let go, talking with her to calm her back down. That night, they had sat on her bed talking for a long time.

She had no idea how Sam was able to put up with her sometimes.

"I case you've forgotten, _Falcon_ , I've missed a lot of things," she still teasing him by refusing to call him Sam since he had done the same to her, using on the name Erin, since Steve and Nat left this morning.

Upon their arrival over a month ago, she and Nat had usually made the weekly trips to the nearest town twenty minutes away for food now that they were here. Steve and Sam were a bit more noticeable but nobody paid any attention to the two of them together. After staying in Spain for a few extra weeks, they decided it would be good to get a bit further out of possible public eyes. Their heroic actions had eventually made the public news, telling the world that criminal Captain America was now in Europe. So, they had packed up, making her a bit sad at having to leave the villa behind.

But walking into the room from the kitchen was the best reason to be here. Sam. He had paused the movie they were watching saying that they needed popcorn. Sitting back down on the couch, he slid right next to her, wrapped his half of the blanket around himself and put the bowl between the two of them. Her cheeks flushed as she felt him slip his leg under hers where it was propped on the coffee table so they mingled together.

"I'm making sure our next stop is back in America since I doubt I can find any here," he told her as she snuggled back against him for warmth.

"Well, caramel and cheddar popcorn mixed together sounds disgusting," she told him taking a handful of plain style from the bag.

It had been over two months since the bomb mission, and they had not done anything heroic, wanting to make sure they laid low enough to be off of anyone's radar. Nat was keeping a lookout on communications concerning them and their possible whereabouts. Until Steve felt they needed to intercede with something, he'd suggested they halt all missions. Sam had been fine with that, stating that keeping her away from bad guys that could hurt her again was a good idea. He had been upset the next day when she'd showed him the small bruise on her shoulder from where the guy had rammed into her.

"This coming from the girl who was so excited to find an orange flavored Penguin chocolate bar," Sam picked up the remote.

"But once I finally convinced to you sample it, you did like it," she pointed out.

"Then you better hold off your assessment of Chicago popcorn until you try it," he leaned over and gave her forehead a quick kiss before un-pausing the movie.

Steve had left yesterday to go back to Wakanda for a short visit to see Bucky. T'Challa had contacted him about discussing the procedure they would like to use on Bucky and Steve wanted to go there instead of discussing it over the secure phone. Nat had left with him and would be dropped off somewhere else, not heading all the way to Wakanda. Nat had decided to take the opportunity to go and check up on Wanda, who quite a while back had left Clint's place and was supposedly out on her own. Nat had suggested that she was really visiting to check up on someone special but had not told her any more than that.

That left her and Sam alone together for the next few days, maybe even for a week or so.

This was one of the first times they'd had any real privacy that lasted longer than a few hours. And she intended to make use of this private time together.

Teagan knew that there was a chance she might not be able to hold it together, for the two of them to actually be together _all the way_ , but she _did_ want _t_ o get past her fear of Keeling. If she didn't act as brave as Sam believe she was sometimes, that arse would continue to control her life even though she was finally free of him. Sam had been working with her, encouraging her to not let Keeling have this power over her, to take it back from him when she was ready.

And feeling the warm body sitting right next to her, she was ready to try.

"So how did you like that movie?" Sam asked her as the credits began to roll.

"It was fine," she told him, not being able to recall half of it due to her fantasies of the past hour of what she wanted to try and...to do...with Sam.

"Fine?" there was an amused tone in his voice.

Cutting her eyes at him, she saw his eyebrow raised in question. Reaching for the bowl, she took it and placed it on the table, telling herself to just take the chance. Being so worried about what might happen, she'd put off taking this huge step forward. And that needed to end.

"Yes, fine…it's a word. Just like nice," she told him with a smile at the inside joke they shared.

Since that first kiss, they would both go out of their way to use the word 'nice' far too often. A sly term of endearment.

"So which is better, fine or nice?" his voice was slightly lower now, more sensual.

Staying under the blanket, Teagan twisted and slid her body over so that she came to rest straddling Sam. With her legs on either side of his, Sam's hands came to rest on her hips, his fingers putting just enough pressure on her to make sure she knew he liked her there. With her on top of him, none of the bad memories were there. Keeling always made sure to pin, restrain, or dominate her in some way. Sam always let her decide where she physically wanted to be, how far she wanted to take their 'make-out' sessions, as he liked to call them.

"I think that should be obvious," she whispered, running her finger on the small patch of beard that was right under his lip. The blanket fell from her shoulder to pool on the floor at Sam's feet.

"It is?" he offered.

"Yes, because given the choice," she started before grinding her hips forward so that she firmly grazed over his groin area, "would you call that fine or nice?"

With that one move, she heard his breath deepen as his fingers dug a bit harder into her.

"That was definitely nice," he told he before she leaned into kiss him.

As they kissed, she ran her hands over his head and neck while his stayed on her sides and back which were covered by the nightshirt. Pulling away for a moment, Teagan was ready to take it a step further. The surprised look on Sam's face as she removed her shirt was worth it. Now, she was sitting topless on his lap, her bare breasts presented for him, but his eyes were captured by something he'd never seen before. The tattoos that had been hidden by her shirts all of this time.

"More tattoos?" he asked her, trailing a finger over the Gaelic writing between her breasts, over her heart. His eyes then traveled to two more on her sides, matching green Celtic knotted ribbons starting from her hips up to just under her arms.

Nodding her head with a cocky smile, she informed him, "There's even a few more you _still_ don't see."

His fingertip softly brushed over the words, and he asked, "What does this one mean?"

It was the only tattoo that was fully comprised only of words, the others being Celtic symbols.

"Glacaimid leis an ngrá a cheapamar a tuillte," she told him.

"It sounds beautiful. What does it mean?"

"We accept the love we think we deserve."

His face softened at hearing the translation, his lips coming down to give the words a single kiss.

"You deserve a lot," he simply told her.

"Maybe," was all that she could reply. Her heart was still hurting from all that she'd had to do thanks to Keeling.

Sam must had known where her mind went, because his finger lifted her chin so that she looked him in the eye.

"Trust me. You deserve more than just love. Like happiness, friendship, and many kisses everywhere," he grinned at her. "Starting with those breasts, if you'll let me."

She couldn't help but laugh at how happy such a remark made her feel. Sam ran his hands over her bare arms, glancing at her bare breast with eagerness in his eyes.

"Are you sure?" he still asked her, making sure she felt comfortable enough.

"I wouldn't have removed the shirt if I wasn't," she told him.

Having that assurance, Sam's hands began to slowly move over more of her body. Taking his time, and driving her a bit crazy as he did it, his hands began to slide over her sides, tracing the tattoos in a tickling touch, slowly moving higher as she leaned over for his lips. She wanted to be able to do the same so she found herself gripping the hem of his t-shirt and pulling it over his head.

Carelessly she tossed it over her shoulder as she touched a hand to his bare torso. His own hands paused just under her breasts, giving her the moment to examine him. It had been so long since she'd touched a guy like this. But her two boyfriends from secondary school didn't compare to Sam in any way. His body was toned and muscular due to all the exercises he did, not to mention the aerial acrobatics he had to accomplish.

"If you want to make a comment about perfection, I would gladly accept it," Sam grinned at her, making her laugh by lighten the mood and distracting her.

"Perfection? Here I was only thinking that ya looked _nice_ ," she had to goad him.

Sam brought his hand up to slap over his heart, teasing back, "You wound me!"

"Then maybe I need to make it up to ya," she heavily told him, her hands trailing down his chest to stop only when they reached the waistband of his sweatpants.

"Teagan…" he started before being silence by her _shushing_ him, knowing that he was only trying to make sure comfortable.

"My speed. A little bit at a time, but it's been so long and right now I want to try for more," she told him, running her fingertips just underneath the material.

"Only what you feel you can do. I'll be happy with whatever you can give," he told her.

"Does that mean that your up for a bit of tit-for-tat?" she coyly asked him.

Sam's eyes widened, and a wide smile crossed his face, exposing that cute tooth gag again. Bending down, she had to kiss him and lick her tongue into his mouth to taste him again. Buttery popcorn, just like her own kiss probably was.

Not breaking their lips from each other, his hands began to move again, this time both finding hold on her breasts. She knew they were not very large, but it seemed that they fit just right into his hands. His thumbs began to circle over her nipple, making it harden with the simple touch. One of her hands came up to hold onto his neck, while she cautiously slid the other further into his pants. Straddling him as she was, Teagan felt him harden underneath of her even more without having touched him yet.

"Can I?" she paused kissing only long enough to ask him.

"Absolutely, Erin," he told her, giving both of her nipples firm pinches.

Her breath hitched at the erotic heat that quickly spread over her body with the move.

"Do you like that?" he asked her between kisses.

"Absolutely, Falcon," she grinned at him.

Her hand found hold of his hard member as Sam's mouth trailed kisses down her neck until he reached her breast. As she began to stroke him, his mouth worked on her, sucking, kissing, biting. Grinding down onto him needing to ease the want between her legs, Sam must have understood what she needed a hand slipped inside of her own night shorts. He moved slowly, as if he expected her to halt him, but that was not what her body wanted right now.

Grasping him firmly as she tugged him to full hardness, his fingers had slid under her panties to find her folds. With every touch that sent a spark through her body, he repaid Sam by tugging in a way that made him growl out. His mouth traveled between her breasts, not denying either the strokes of his tongue or soft bites of his teeth. For the next few minutes, the two of them carefully pleasured each other to the point where Teagan knew she couldn't take it much long. Sam must have sensed the change in her body as he slipped his other hand under her bottom to lift her up slightly. Now he was able to glide a finger inside of her.

"Sam," she panted out, tossing her head back while she began to stroke him faster.

"I want to see you enjoy this, Teagan, don't hold back. It's only us here…just the two of us," he reminded her as their hands stimulated each other even faster.

Feeling Sam's body begin to shudder underneath of her, she knew he'd found his own release, which made him slip another finger inside of her as he bit down harder onto her nipple. That was what finally made her own body climax. Crying out, she felt his hand wrap around her to hold her since she'd arched her back during the spasm. Exhausted from the experience, Teagan collapsed atop of Sam, her face resting in the crook of his neck as she tried to control her heavy breathing.

Once they were both calmer, she leaned back to see if his expression told her he'd regretted their actions.

"Making you orgasm seems to bring out your freckles," Sam told her with a smile as his finger traced over her cheek. "They're adorable with your skin flushed pink. If you'll let me, I wouldn't mind seeing you like this again a few more times before the others get back."

Hearing him say that made her heart swell a bit.

"You don't regret…doing that?" she hesitantly asked, needed to hear it.

"Never," he told her, pulling her down so that he could kiss her lips.

A little while later, once they had both cleaned up and changed to go to sleep, Sam sat down on her bed. She could tell that he wanted a serious talk.

"I know you said tit-for-tat earlier, but I'm hoping now that you've had some time that _you_ don't regret what we did," he softly stated.

Now he was worried about her changing her mind.

"No. I've been wantin' ta' do something like that for a few weeks now. It just took me that long ta' work up tha' courage," she told him. "It also helped that we were alone for tha' first time in a long while. I don'na see Steve an' Nat appreciating such a show."

"No, I don't think they would enjoy it," he told her, as their hands touched each other. "But we sure did."

Teagan knew she was blushing again.

"Has it been a long time since you've been with someone?" she asked, more curious than jealous.

Sam gave her a nod.

"Traveling a lot the way we do doesn't leave much time for a girlfriend," he told her. "And I'm not going to rush you into anything, meaning you don't have to if you don't want to. But would you mind if I called you my girlfriend? Then we can tease Steve about not having one."

She couldn't stop the grin that appeared on her face.

"I haven't been someone's girlfriend in a very long time."

"All the more reason to start with the best," he smugly informed her, earning him a roll of her eyes. "Start with the best, forget the rest."

"Oh, is _that_ how it works?" playfulness in her voice.

"Absolutely, _Erin_ ," he told her before leaning over for a kiss. "So what do you say?"

"Absolutely, _Falcon_."


	22. Happily Trapped Together

**Iceland Safe House**  
A Few Days Later  


Sam squinted at the headlights trying to see through the late spring snow that now covered the windshield of the car while trying to spot through the dark the small dirt road that led to the cabin. He'd run into town for a few supplies to get them through the next few days, leaving Teagan alone since she had wanted to start the Irish warming stew for their dinner. The trip was supposed to have only been about an hour and he'd left late in the afternoon.

Unfortunately, there had been an accident which closed the only road he could take from town to the cabin. A semi-truck had been cut off and lost control on the icy road, partially falling into the ditch and leaving the trailer over both lanes. That meant that his overall trip was now well into hour three, much longer than he had wanted it to be. The snowstorm that they had learned about after lunchtime and that he trying to stock up for had already begun. They had woken up late and had a long make-out session that stopped them from paying attention to the weather report that morning. Hence his late start to the store.

Finally Sam spotted the driveway marked by the solitary tree stump carved into a penguin. Nat had pointed out that when the roads were covered in wintertime there was no distinction between any of them. He slow and carefully drove his way through the barren hills, anxious to finally get back. Making the final turn, he was able to spot the cabin, and he felt his gut drop.

There was not a single light coming from the inside.

He knew that Teagan had a massive fear of the dark, and the fact that she had not turned on any light worried him. Had she somehow been hurt and unable to?

Jumping out of the car, Sam raced through the crunchy snow yard, jumping over the two steps to land on the wooden porch he sprinkled with salt before leaving. Suddenly worried that maybe their location had been compromised, he glanced around the dark yard but saw no signs of intruders footsteps in the snow. Opening the unlocked door, Sam found that the fire was still going in the fireplace, giving a dull glow over the den. The smell of the stew was heavy in the air, a low burn from the gas stove with the pot still on it. His eyes then began darting around trying to spot Teagan but nothing caught his attention.

"Teagan," he calmly called out trying his best to keep the worry from his voice. Sam closed the door behind him without receiving an answer.

The room was chilly, making him wonder why she would have turned the heaters off. Reaching over to the wall, Sam flipped the light switch and nothing happened. He realized that the storm must have knocked the power out while he was gone. There had not been in footprints to indicate that she'd left the house so Teagan had to be somewhere close.

"Teagan, it's Sam, I'm back," he called out making his way towards the fire, letting it show her that it was indeed him while checking the darker corners for her form.

He knew that she was here, hiding somewhere from Keeling. Even after all this time, he was still her greatest fear.

"Sam," the whisper of her voice was coming from off to the left.

Stepping over to the chair that was in the corner of the den, he pulled it away to reveal Teagan wrapped up in a blanket with one of his guns in her unsteady hands. Letting her get a good look at him, he then slowly reached to take the loaded weapon from her. He placed it onto the seat of the chair behind him before sitting on the ground, wrapping his arms around her shaking body.

"Sorry I was gone for so long," he told her trying to help calm her. "There was an accident blocking the road to get back. I didn't think to take my emergency phone with me to call and let you know. Are you alright?"

"I tried…" she whispered.

"Tried what?" he asked.

"Tried to keep it together. I did for a while. After the power went out. It was still light outside...then the sun went down," she told him.

"And it got too dark for you," he finished, showing that he knew her problem. "You don't have to explain to me. I know that it's not an easy thing to just suddenly get over."

For the past few months, Teagan had slowly been telling him pieces of what she'd gone through with Keeling, how he liked to keep her in the darkness. To her, it represented the worst moments in her entire life, being locked away with no hope of escape. And then Ross had inadvertently used her own fear against her, trying to torture her into working for him. But she had been so strong enough to not let it break her.

"I'm sorry I'm so weak, I don't want'a be," she told him.

"You're not weak," he hated that she felt this way. Running his hand over her head, "You have a very _real_ reason to fear the dark. It will get better, you just have to give it some time. For two years you were strong enough to never let your fear be the reason that you finally would give into Ross' demands. You have the strength in you to fight and overcome this fear. In some ways, you're just like Steve…to stubborn to stay down. All you have to do is find that inner strength at times like this and let it help you up."

After a few moments of silence between the, she practically whispered, "When the lights first went out, I thought that Keeling had found me. I got your gun. I was going to fight him."

Teagan's body then began to shake, and he knew it wasn't from the cold.

Her voice was broken when she spoke, "I can't go back. I'd brake. Why couldn't he have died? Then I would at least know he wasn't out there."

Sam gave her forehead a single kiss, his arms squeezed her just a bit firmer.

"Even if he is out there, I'm right here for you."

"I don't think I deserve you," she whispered, making him think of her tattoo.

Reaching over, he rested his palm right over the spot where it was located on her chest.

"Yes, you do…you only have to accept it."

They sat quietly for a while longer before he was finally able to get Teagan to stand. While she went to see how the stew had fared, he stoked the fire and found Nat's stash of emergency candles. After going out to the get the groceries and supplies from the car, making him glad it was a snowstorm since it kept the food cold, they sat and ate the warm stew.

Not knowing how long the power would be out, he then pulled the two mattresses from their beds and made a space for them to sleep on right in front of the fireplace on the floor. They even grabbed all the pillows and blankets they could find from the other bedroom to make a very cozy nest. The generator that Nat had set up worked only the stove and water heater since this location was not used often.

With no television to distract them, he turned on the emergency battery-powered radio and found a station playing music, neither one of them understanding a single word. To distract Teagan and make her feel a bit better, they ended up having an incredible make-out session while the heavy snow fell outside. He was sure that during those two hours that she never once thought about how dark the cabin was or that Keeling was still alive.

By the time he fell asleep, Sam had curled their half-naked bodies together, him spooning her back to his chest as he listened to her steady breathing. He would make sure that he did everything he could so that she never felt that scared or powerless again.

* * *

"So, how about a walk in the snow?" Sam was looking out the window over the sink where he was washing dishes while she dried and put them away.

"Wouldn't that be dangerous?" she asked.

"The weather forecast says the there is a small break for the next few hours before the next wave of storms moves in. If we don't get out of here for a little while, we might not have the chance again for a few more days," he told her. "Just a short walk down the drive to the penguin and back to help forgo the cabin fever a few days longer."

Thinking of a possibility, Teagan couldn't stop the smile before saying, "That _would_ give a good reason to snuggle for some warmth together _afterwards_."

A pair of strong arms slid around her waist, pulling her against the hard body behind her. Sam had been so good to her, taking their blossoming relationship at a slowly increasing pace that he had let her set. Every so often when some touch would draw her mind back to that dark place, Sam was there to help her back into the light. After the past few months of such wonderful touches, especially last night, her fear of being intimate with Sam was quickly and steadily dropping to non-existence. Her thoughts were already moving towards the next step.

"I don't need to go outside to find a reason to do _that_."

Sam then began to trail kisses across the back of her neck, tickling her sensitive skin with his lips to where she drew up her shoulders while almost giggling.

"I've been meaning to ask, what does this tattoo represent?" Sam's lips then began to kiss the center back of her neck.

In that spot was one of her favorite tattoos…a four-leaf clover. The clover itself was a bright green, but she'd had it designed with numerous dark blue curly wisps of swirls coming from it. Dotting in-between the curls were small yellow stars.

"It just shows the lucky clover blowing in the wind on a starry night," she told him as his finger began to trace along the swirls. "Luck be in the wind."

"It's beautiful," he told her. "So, exactly how many tattoos do you have?"

Teagan turned around to face Sam.

"Well, I guess you'll just have to wait and eventually find out," she grinned sure that he understood what she was getting at.

"As long as I get to kiss every single one of them you're still hiding, just like I did last night," he then did that grin of his that made her knees weaken.

"I'd hurt you if you didn't," she teased him.

After bundling up in their winter gear, they walked outside, basking in the fresh, crisp wind. She had not realized how stuffy the cabin had been since she'd hardly stepped outside of it since arriving. There was not much to do here being so far out of town, making her miss the Spanish villa which had been in walking distance. It reminded her more of South Dakota, where she and the others had to occupy each other, also being more away from prying eyes.

Being worried that she might stand out with her red hair, she'd always made sure to tuck her red hair under a cap to go pick up supplies. Natasha had a program running to inform her of anything that got posted about all of them possibly being spotted, but she didn't want to the be one to actually cause it. So far, they had managed to stay out of sight, and Teagan hoped it continued.

Walking down the drive, hand-in-hand with Sam, she hoped that they had a few more days alone together. Maybe they would get lucky and the storms would keep Steve and Natasha away.

* * *

Sam felt a warm hand sliding over his bare chest, and it brought a smile to his formally sleeping face. The first kiss laid upon his shoulder is what made him open his eyes. The glow from the fireplace made Teagan's hair shine like fire as her body began to slide atop of his. Her lips trailed kisses over his collar bone, up his neck, and finally landed on his lip. All the while, her body ground nicely down onto his.

When her hand began to travel down to his bottoms, sliding underneath of the material to take a hold of him, he couldn't stop the moan of pleasure that escaped his lips.

"I vote for being woken up just like this all the time," he mumbled into her ear as she stroked him.

"Glad to hear it," she told him, taking a nip at his earlobe.

"If you're going to tease me this much, you better be ready for some real tit-for-tat," he grinned up at her, placing his hands on her butt cheeks so that he could pull her down just enough so that she now firmly rested against this body.

"No more tit-for-tat," she told him, making Sam pause as he was reaching for her own panties. "I want ya' ta' scuttle me like I've been dreamin' 'bout."

His chest, and something a bit lower, swelled knowing what Teagan was admitting to him.

"Are you sure? You don't have to rush into this. I will be here for you if your not ready. We can wait until…"

"No!" she interrupted him, placing her fingers over his mouth to silence him. "I need this… _you_ , right now more than I ever have. I let my fear hold me back from you for far too long, but I will not let the memory of that gobshite hold me back from enjoying sex anymore. You are not him and I'm through living in the past."

His chest swelled with delight at hearing her say the words that he had been holding back from uttering, worried about how she might take them. But it seemed that the two of them might be on the exact same page.

She quickly removed her night shirt, tossing it aside. Teagan then pressed her hips down into his waist, the warmth of their bare chests together his making him grow even harder.

"Then I really hope scuttle means what I hope it does," he told her, knowing that it would be best to stay lying on the bed with her atop of him. He knew that if she felt confined that there was a chance of a small panic attack starting. He didn't want her to associate them being together sexually with anything that Keeling may have done to her so letting her start out on top seemed the best idea. Sam somehow doubted that she'd ever been forced into sex in that position.

"It absolutely does, Falcon."

His cheeks were almost hurting with the wide smile upon his face.

"Well then, Erin, we are going to take this at your pace," he told her, running his hands up her back to pull her down for a kiss.

They only lasted a few moments with heavy kissing before both of them felt the need to finish stripping down.

With her hands on the elastic hem of her pajama bottoms, pulling them down every so slightly, "Have I ever shown you my little birdy tattoo?" she seductively asked him while rubbing a spot just hidden by the material.

"No, can't say that I've seen that one," he admitted while his eyes eagerly looking forward to her reveal.

Coming up to a kneeling position over him, Teagan then made a show of lowering her bottoms to expose her her hip area. Sam instantly noticed that there was no sign of a bird tattoo at all.

"Where is it?" he asked, seeing her confused look as she rubbed her skin searching for it, while he wondered how she could loose a tattoo.

"I can't find it," Teagan told him sounding a bit disappointed. Teagan then looked him in the eyes and boldly stated, "Oh, well. I guess my pussy ate it."

After a moment of shock at the crude joke, his laughter filled the room, knowing that if anyone had been anywhere nearby the house that they would have heard him.

"You, Teagan, are an Irish gem," he told her as he grabbed her sides and began to tickle her until she was laughing as hard as he had.

Rolling off of him to get away, Sam took that moment to pull her bottoms all the way off. She laid there watching as he removed his boxers, making her do that lovely blush of her cheeks.

Taking a few moments, Sam reached over and put another log on the fire to help keep the cabin warm, not that he expected them to get cold anytime soon. But Sam could easily see them being worn out and falling asleep right after only to wake up to a chilly house. Laying back down, he held out his hand for Teagan so that she would once again be on top where she would be comfortable.

"Wait," he told her as Teagan went to throw her leg back over him. Jumping up, he ran to the bathroom to get the purchase he had made after their first make-out session. Grabbing the box of condoms, he saw a smile on Teagan's face as she saw them with his return.

"Hopeful much?" she asked with a grin as he fell back onto the mattress next to her. She was atop of him before he could even get comfortable.

"How would you feel if right now I had to run to the store?" he pointed out.

"Good point," she stated before capturing his lips with her again.

With an almost forgotten skill, Sam managed to get the box open and the condom unrolled onto him with only the use of his hands, not his eyes. Teagan moving to kneel again had moved higher up onto him, giving him some room but placing her beasts at the perfect spot for sucking, which he did as a multitask.

With his hands now free, he traversed her pale skin, finding the same ticklish spots he had noticed the other night. He liked to see her smile and would make sure to have her do it he could, his lips would press kisses over her numerous tattoos, letting his tongue swipe just enough to make her giggle.

Letting her set the pace, Teagan began to rotate her hips over him, making him even more eager than he already was. Her hands explored him even more than she previously had, almost like she was trying to memorize his body. In a way, he thought that maybe that was exactly what she was doing. Green eyes traced over every inch of him, as if trying to make sure he was there. Sam became worried that she might be letting her mind slip to a bad place.

"I'm not going anywhere," he whispered to her, bringing her wrist to his mouth to kiss.

"I have to make sure," she told him. "I can't have you disappear right now. It would break me."

Sam felt his chest tighten with pain at her words. He knew that she would sometimes fall into a state where she thought all of this a dream. He couldn't let her do that right now.

"Teagan, I'm going to roll us over. Do you trust me?"

"Absolutely."

Carefully Sam held onto her as he rolled so that she was now lying on her back looking up at him. Without putting too much weight down on her, Sam began to explore her body with his mouth. His hand slid between her legs, caressing her until his ears picked up the mewing sounds that she couldn't hold in. Feeling her hips circling for the touch of his hand, Sam hoped that she was ready.

Slowly he slipped inside of her, Teagan giving a sharp inhale as she tossed her head back. The flush of her cheeks and the biting of her lip to stop the smile told him she was fine. They rocked as one, her nails finding the perfect hold on his shoulders. She wrapped her legs around him, as if trying to keep him from leaving her. Supporting himself on one arm, Sam ran his other hand under her, lifting her hips harder into his.

He was able to restrain himself from finishing by planting kisses over her exposed neck and breasts. By the time Teagan screamed his name, between the heat of the moment and the stoked fire, they both had a sheen of sweat over both their bodies. Sam managed to hold himself up over her for only a few seconds before needing to lay at her side, panting heavily to match her own as he did so.

"How do you feel?" he was able to ask once his heaving chest calmed down.

"Brilliant," Teagan responded as she rolled onto her side and curled up against him. Her head rested on his chest with his arm wrapped around her. Her leg was thrown over his and her arm hugged him firmly. This was probably the most content he'd known her to be in a long while.

Not long after, he was almost asleep when he felt a drop of something run down his side from where Teagan's head was resting. Glancing down at her face, he saw that there were tears in her eyes. Now that the excitement of the moment was over, was she now regretting what they had done?

"Teagan, are you alright?" he tried to shift position but she latched onto him with her arms.

"Sam..." her voice once again sounded unsure of his name.

"Yes, it's me."

"Tell me your real. Tell me that this is not another dream."

Reaching to tighten his own grasp of her, he realized that she had indeed slipped back into the 'dream' mentality, not sure if she was really free.

"I'm here with you. You're safe, and this is real," he told her, kissing the top of her head.

Wiping away the remaining tears, she whispered, "I'm tired but I'm afraid...", her words dropped off but Sam could guess the rest.

"Go to sleep. I promise that I will be here when you wake up."

A few minutes went by before he could tell that her breathing had evened out and that she was finally resting. He had been worried that maybe they'd gone too far too quick, but instead, she had only wanted insurance that it was real. Even after all of these months of being with them, he hated that some part of her was still so scared that none of it was real.

Sam decided that he would make sure they had a few more long discussions about those fears and why they still worried her. And he would do whatever he could to make them disappear.

* * *

They had three more days and nights together before the storm let up with the power coming on, making Teagan very happy…and a little disappointed at the same time. With the house heater back on it meant that there was no real reason to stay sleeping on the floor with Sam anymore. Those nights sleeping in his arms were the best rest that she'd had in a very long time. After that first time of being with Sam, not once had any of her dreams even hinted at Keeling. He was now reserved only for the briefest of moments during her waking hours.

This morning Sam received a text letting them know to expect company by that night now that they could fly in. Only a few hours after they had the cabin looking back to normal by reassembling their bunk bed, Steve and Natasha arrived. Sam told them about the power going out during the storm, but he left out the part where she'd cowered in fear in a corner. They all were involved in the discussion about leaving for a new safe-house and when they would want to do so.

"It doesn't get very warm here, even during the summer," Natasha informed them. "I would suggest somewhere either warmer or more populated."

"So, where should we go?" Steve asked the group.

"Anywhere in the U.S.," Sam them offered, getting two sets of eyes on him, curious as to his suggestion. "I told Teagan about Chicago-style popcorn and I don't think I'll find it anywhere else but there."

"That's how you want to decide where to hide out? Basing your decision on your stomach?" Natasha teased. "That sounds like something Tony would do."

"It really doesn't matter to me," she tried to offer. "I'm just along for the ride…"

"No, you're not," Sam then stopped her. "You're part of this group too."

He had taken her hand into his as he spoke, and she couldn't miss the sly grin on Nat's face or the wide one on Steve's. Did they suspect that they had taken their relationship a bit further than kissing? Now she felt her face flush with embarrassment at what they might be thinking about the two of them doing when they hadn't been here.

And for what _had_ been done.

"So, then? Somewhere near Chicago so we can get the authentic stuff?" Natahsa offered as she pulled out her phone to check something.

"Why not?" Steve stated as he went to the kitchen for a snack with the decision being made that easily.

* * *

**Chicago Safe House**

Three weeks later they were all walking into the new safe-house in a suburb west of Chicago. Natasha somehow had an ability to find houses where they could hide a jet very close by but also being near necessities, such as grocery stores and restaurants with only a short drive. This house reminded Teagan of the first one, but it backed up to a small tributary river and had a larger backyard area. They could land the jet and leave it on stealth mode to hide it.

Walking up the stairs with her bag, Teagan found three bedrooms consisting of one single bed, a queen bed, and two twin beds. Not wanting to presume anything when it came to sleeping arrangements with Sam, she stood in the hallway as he glanced at the options.

Standing at the door where the queen bed was, Sam turned to her, put on a charming smile, then commented, "Would it be too presumptuous to think that you might like to share this room with me, my girlfriend?"

Teagan felt her body ease up a bit at hearing that.

"What about Steve and Natasha?" she hesitantly asked. "Do you think they might say something?"

"No. I think that have an idea that we've gotten closer. Besides, I enjoyed those couple of nights curled up together in front of the fire. So unless you would feel too uncomfortable sharing, then we could take the two twins," he pointed out.

"No," she answered a bit too quickly, making Sam smile. "I liked those nights too."

Reaching out, Sam took her backpack in his hand and placed both of them on the bed that the two of the would be sharing in just a few hours…with Steve and Natasha actually in the house. They hadn't said anything about how she and Sam had been acting together, the holding of hands or kisses they shared where they could see. They hadn't seemed to care about them sharing the bunk bed room. But how would they react to them ' _sleeping_ ' together? Would they think that she'd done something to Sam to make this happen?

Hearing footsteps behind her, she saw the two of them coming up to claim their own bedrooms. Noticing which bedroom they had jointly claimed, a smile appear on Natasha's face as she then held out her hand in front of Steve. Seconds later, he was passing over a five-dollar bill to her.

"I don't know why he doesn't just give up," Natasha told her as she took the room with the single bed, letting Steve have the two twins.

They all watched as he then pushed the two smaller beds together to make a larger one.

"That's better," Steve stated happily. "Alright, so who's heading to the store for this special popcorn?"

* * *

**Unknown Hydra Base**  
**Days Later**

Marcus Keeling sat at the conference table as Henry Bradshaw looked over the pile of papers given to him for this meeting. It had taken far too long in his opinion, but he and his small team of tacticians had finally managed to come up with that he considered to be their best course of action when it came to re-capturing Teagan.

He had informed them of his suspicions concerning the possible growing attraction between her and Falcon based on the report given by the terrorists who had seen the two of them together. Holding her hands, disappearing together for a few moments, carrying her away from the balcony…there were too many subtle hints for him to think they were just coincidences. And even if somehow he had misread the situation, they would still be capturing someone she considered a friend to use against her.

It was her fault if she'd forgotten how he'd told her numerous times that having friends was dangerous.

After outlining that he wanted a plan that not only captured Teagan but one that also took Falcon into their grasp, he had let his new team go at it. They had come up with no less than three other plans that left much to be desired. He had tried to make it abundantly clear that Teagan needed to be taken with minimal damage to her person. If she was unable to perform with her powers, then there was no point in going after her to begin with.

As for Falcon, they just needed him alive. Damaged was fine, just not dead.

The hardest part of dealing with Falcon was the idea of trying to capture a quick moving target. Luckily, Hydra had a couple of weapons that had been down in a lower storage area that had not been used in quite a while. After a few days of searching through the items available to them, his team agreed that using an electrified net-gun they found would be perfect to contain Falcon. They only had to be inside of the gun's range and the fired netting would encompass his wings and body, and the electrical field would disrupt his pack, making flight impossible. He would have a rough landing, but nothing they felt would be fatal.

The biggest problem would be separating Captain America and Black Widow from the other two. Since they had no special equipment or abilities such as flight, the team all came to the conclusion that once they arrived at the location chosen for the mission, that the two of them would be limited to ground movement. They only needed a spot that would not give them multiple accesses to escape routes.

There were a couple of locations that were in the report for Henry to consider for them to use. All of them were abandoned bases since the fall of Hydra. A few were even older, left over from the cold war era, being nothing more than underground bunkers and storage facilities. They would easily be believed as a location that Hydra would use to help build themselves back up.

"This is a very bold proposal," Henry's skeptical voice echoed in the quiet conference room, tossing the folder down on the table in front of him.

"It has to be," Marcus pointed out. "She's not just driving a car alone like last time. We have to separate her from the others for the plan to work."

"You do realize that one of the secondary circumstances that could arise from this mission as it is laid out would be the death of Captain America and Black Widow."

"And? Is that actually a problem?"

Henry's lips turned up on the ends in a twisted smile.

"Not really."

"I'm only suggesting putting a plan into place that would incapacitate them for the time necessary to capture our initial target, and hopefully the secondary one as well."

Henry's eyes narrowed, "And you are sure that it is necessary to take Falcon into custody also? Are you sure that you're not cutting too big of a slice of cake?"

"If my team and I did not feel that it was possible to take him also, then we would have come up with a plan to just eliminate him. But I have a strong suspicion that he will come in handy once Teagan is back with us. She's been broken once, but after so long with freedom, she going to be stubborn. If need be, having access to her friend and possible lover to use against her will help ensure her compliance. If it comes to it, we will just eliminate him in front of her. That would shatter her spirit."

"Instead of wasting him, I may have another use for Falcon instead," Henry's comment surprised him. "Once you have regained control of Teagan, I want him to be turned so that he is loyal to Hydra."

Marcus' curiosity was now very heightened at hearing that.

"May I ask as to why? He's not the best combatant out there."

"No, but his friends are," Henry now had a grin going. "Even if Captain America and Black Widow are eliminated, I believe he will still be able to contact all of the other Avengers. He can set up meetings where they are captured one by one and then turned to Hydra's side. And that may only be the beginning. Think of having the king of Wakanda on our side...his country may be nothing of importance but consider all the other political heads that he can gain us access to. Falcon will help us to take over the world."

Sitting back in his chair, Marcus started to realize how powerful he would become. It would be up to him and his project to rebuild Hydra with the most powerful superheroes on the planet. He would be personally responsible for turning possibly all of NATO and the U.N. members into Hydra agents. He could easily word their commands to sway them to only obey him, making him essential to Hydra Command. His own station inside of Hydra would increase ten-fold.

Trying to contain his excitement, he calmly responded, "I will see about having him turned once Teagan is back under my thumb."

"Has there been any sign of them since the last _confirmed_ sighting?" Henry asked.

"Not really. They have been laying low, but reports have come in of _unconfirmed_ sightings for the past few months. None of our feelers have come back with anything concrete as to their whereabouts. Our spies inside of the U.N. and Secretary Ross' group have also informed us that their teams have had negative results too," Marcus told him. "But if we leak the information of the location as planned, they will be coming to us, no matter where they are hiding."

"A bit risky using yourself as a target, isn't it Marcus?"

"It's only a ploy," he pointed out. "Just because the information is leaked that I'm at the location does not necessarily mean that I will be."

Henry seemed to consider that before speaking again.

"I think that if I approve this mission, that you _do need_ to be."

"Why?" wondering if his superior was trying to get rid of him.

"Hydra base or not, having a visual conformation of you being at the location would guarantee them assaulting the base. They will be going after the base not only because it's Hydra, but for their friend as well. You can't just _tell_ the horse you have a carrot, you need to _dangle_ it in front of them."

Marcus had already considered that as a possibility but he'd didn't like the idea of putting himself into harm's way. Even if he didn't say it aloud, he considered every other member of the strike team that he planned to use on this mission as expendable as long as he got Teagan back. Decades ago he would have been the one _leading_ the strike team, not just overseeing the mission.

"Are you going to disapprove the mission if I _don't_ go along with the strike team to the location?" he asked.

"No, I'm just pointing out that if we are going through all of this trouble of going up against Captain America and Black Widow to get Teagan back, then I don't want it to fall apart all because they decided to not accommodate us by refusing to expose themselves. Your plan is based on the fact that they will show up because they know of your relationship with Teagan and will be seeking revenge for her. It only makes sense that we give them _exactly_ what they are wanting."

Marcus stewed a bit, knowing that Henry was correct.

"Then I will accompany the strike team to the base and make sure that I put in an appearance."

Henry reached over and pushed the file to slide it across the table to him.

"Then I would suggest using a location I know of in Colorado for this mission. It is listed in our files as Northmount Outpost and has been abandoned for decades. Also, it was not one of the compromised locations with the Hydra files that made it to the internet, just like here. Pull up the schematics and I think you'll agree that it is a suitable location."

"It will take a few more weeks to have everything put into place," Marcus had to try hard to keep from grinning like a Cheshire cat. "I'll keep you informed of our progress."

Henry leaned forward over the table, glaring daggers at him now.

"I want Project Cherry Tree back in place and operational ASAP. And yes, I understand that it will take some time to break Teagan again. Just don't let it drag on for too long, Marcus. With the loss of true Hydra agents inside of the government, our blackmailed spies can only get us so far. We _need_ her to command the targets I have pre-selected to be turned into double agents."

Marcus now understood another reason why Henry had agreed to this bold mission. They could not keep kidnapping family members and holding them so they were forced to supply Hydra with information. If too many people began to go on 'extended' trips or such without returning, someone may eventually become suspicious of them.

"I'll have it back on track as quickly as I can."

Rising to leave, Henry gave one final comment.

"And I expect you to use every type of torture, mental and physical, to do just that."

Knowing exactly what his superior meant, it finally made that smile surface.

"Yes, Sir."


	23. Our First Fight?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year! Sorry, sorry, and sorry for the delay. I was traveling for the holidays and am now back to work. I'll be posting one chapter on Mondays until I can catch up on uploading and editing. Hope everything is going good so far for all of you out there.

**Chicago Safe House  
** **Two Weeks Later**

Sam knew that he was brooding a bit, but he was trying his best to at least not seem like it. They were all gathered in the den watching some show where people sang to get famous, Teagan leaning against his side with his arm around her shoulder. But his mind was replaying the disturbing event with her from earlier.

This morning after coming back from a long run with Steve, he'd found Teagan sitting on their bed with her laptop. After returning to the states, she'd often be found surfing the internet and at first he thought that was what she was doing. But when he headed over to the dresser to get a clean change of clothes, the sudden audio recording of her unmistakable voice screaming out in pain stopped him dead in his tracks.

_/…"What are you looking at?" he asked resting on the edge of the bed to see the computer screen better._

_"I'm going through my old Hydra file looking for something," she told him in a low voice._

_"What?" he asked, sure he was not going to like the answer._

_"I want to know why," she told him clicking open a new video._

_Sam listened as another section of audio came on, Teagan screaming and crying for someone to stop whatever was being done to her. He slapped the lid of the laptop down, turning off the horrible sounds that grated on his soul._

_As he then tried to remove it from her hands, she told him, "Stop that."_

_"Teagan, you don't need to go through all of those hideous videos."_

_"Yes, I do," she said shocking him._

_"Why?" he demanded._

_"I need to know why…why he did that stuff to me. No matter how much I try, that question is always there, haunting me as I walk outside, while taking a shower, just before falling asleep. I want to know why he tortured me, why he believed that he could change my powers."_

_When Teagan had first joined them, he had spent many weeks going through her file so he would know how better to help her. And it was during that time which he had found her answer. He had wondered before if Teagan had ever questioned the tactics used on her and it seemed that she had, a lot more than he had ever guessed. He figured long ago that it didn't really matter, it was in the past and she was free of Keeling. This was the first time she had ever brought up the topic._

_"I know why," he stated. Her eyes went wide with his admission. "I read a report a long time ago that explained his reasoning."_

_"What did you find?" she asked, her voice already unsteady._

_"Keeling read the scientists' reports that your powers might be a type of rare self-preservation manifestation or mutation. They theorized that you'd gained them to keep yourself safe for some reason. Therefore, Keeling concluded that since he needed to break you so that you'd be obedient, that if he could torture you enough, that your powers might alter themselves to become a challenge to the perceived threat."_

_"But he had no way of knowing that would really happen, did he?"_

_Sam shook his head, "No. He was only guessing. But he couldn't put you into real life threatening situations. Instead, he used multiple types of physical and mental…tortures to see what would happen."_

_Sam knew that she understood that the sexual assaults which Keeling seemed very fond of fell into both of those categories._

_"At first, I suspected that it was only something that Keeling knew about," he continued. "But eventually I found a letter to a Hydra Commander Bradshaw stating that before he stopping your power-altering 'testing', that he wanted permission to mentally break you…using rape. He'd then clinically gone into detail as to why he thought that this new tactic might not only work on your powers, but that since you were still so disobedient that you needed to lose all hope of escaping from Hydra."_

_He then told Teagan how it was also in this request to begin the daily torture which included her fingers being systematically broken._

_"Records showed that within a month's time, your powers finally changed to include commanding people. Keeling was praised for his work on the project's new beneficial potential. That was when Keeling also had to increase his precautions to prevent you from escaping using this new powers."_

_"He asked for permission to rape me, and Bradshaw actually gave it," her voice was strained with emotion._

_Sam slid up the bed so that he was right next to her, wrapping his arm around her to pull her close for a hug._

_"Keeling is gone, he's out of your life. It doesn't matter what his twisted little Hydra mind can think of because you are **never** going to see him again unless it's to read his obituary," he told her, trying to ease her mind and calm her some._

_Teagan gave a single snort, "Oh, I'll see him alright. **I'm** going to be the one to **put** him into that grave."_

_Sam sat there stunned at the viciousness of her words, never having heard that exact tone come from her during their entire time together. But then he remembered a couple of other times they had spoken of Keeling. She had spoken of his death a handful of times, and her eyes always darkened when discussing that Keeling was still alive somewhere out there._

_Teagan did indeed hold a fatal grudge against the man…/_

Sam had then tried to point out that reading any more would only stand to bring back the horrible memories and darken her dreams. That seemed to help calm Teagan a bit, and she gave up on perusing her file any more today.

But sitting here, holding her in his arms, Sam worried about how she was going to acclimate later on. What if they never had another lead on Keeling? What if he died while using another name and they never discovered it? Would she go through the rest of her life with this burning hated for a dead man? How would she ever gain the closure that he desperately wanted for her?

"Ready for bed?" the soft, gentle voice asked him.

Looking down, he saw Teagan looking up at him with pure trust in her eyes. The television show's credits were running. Steve and Nat had gotten up to go to the kitchen to put away their dirty snack dishes. He had not paid attention to the entire two-hour show.

"Yes," he said giving her forehead a kiss before helping her up.

* * *

Teagan knew that something was bothering Sam, and she was positive that it stemmed from this morning's conversation. No matter how hard she tried, there was no way to get Keeling out of her head. He would be with her until she died. So she figured that maybe if she understood his twisted mind better, then maybe some of the unanswered questions would at not nag at her so much.

Now she knew that so much of what she had gone through was all because of what _Keeling_ had _wanted_ to do. Hydra had just given him permission to do so. Hydra had charged him with fully testing her abilities, to find out how far she could be pushed while using them. After reading the scientist's report on what they found, it was Keeling that had come up with the idea of breaking her fingers to see what would happen. It was only after a couple of broken fingers that the scientist had felt that it was a pointless test and that further tortures to her would not result in the altering of her powers.

But Keeling would not give up that easily.

Even being told that it would probably not work, he had continued snapping her fingers one at a time. She remembered how Keeling would always be there on those days. During other tests and medical experiments he would not necessarily be there, leaving it up to the scientists.

But on the days when she was dragged into the room to find him sitting at the small desk of his off in the corner that she knew what was coming. Those where the days where she would fight the most once she recognized the pattern of him being there with that twisted smile on his face. By the time the day's tortures were over, not only was a finger broken but her entire body was hurting from the beating the guards had to deliver to secure her into the chair they used.

Being told by the scientist that going through all of that was not going to get him the results he wanted mean nothing to him. Keeling had told her once while she was hanging in her cell that once her new powers emerged, that he would become one of the most influential Hydra project commanders. Using her to his advantage, he could guarantee that he remain in a position of power…if not make his way even higher. He could use her to gain control over his own superiors, and even take out anyone that questioned him.

Maybe knowing how more horrible her life would become if he got his way was the reason that she had managed to hold out or prevent those changes from happening to her.

Just before Keeling called off the tortures, he _had_ to take that final step that pushed her off the cliff.

That first time he had entered her cell to…just thinking about him touching her made her grind her teeth.

She could tell from the smirk on his face that something was about to change, and not for the good.

While Keeling had been there, she kept waiting for a guard or anyone to arrive and stop him. But not a single person even approached her cell, even with the gagged screams she managed to make echo throughout the halls. He had not even bothered to shut the door to hide his wicked deed.

Afterwards, she hung there aching and crying, trying to figure out some way to either get out of there or to kill herself. She knew that doing so was a sin, but it had to be a better option than the sins being heaped onto her. Similar thoughts occupied her for so long after that first time, namely, every other time Keeling had shown up.

But then he had been rewarded for his vile act.

It wasn't until after being strapped into the chair for another finger to be snapped that they had learned about the change. Before the agent even had a chance to start, she had pleaded for him to 'stop, please don't' in a weak voice while watching him secure her finger into the vice. But he had then looked up at her eyes, filled with tears, and he had stopped his work. Looking over at Keeling, the agent had told him what had happened.

She had commanded him and he had been forced to obey her.

Hydra Command had offered Keeling _congratulation_ on improving his project's abilities for their purpose and he had _proudly_ bragged to _her_ about it. For so long, she had figured that they had no real idea how he had managed to do so. Today, she had learned that not only had he _requested_ from them permission to rape her, but that scum bastard Bradshaw had actually _permitted_ him to! What kind of sick mind would actually want to do that?

Gripping her toothbrush so hard that her hand was starting to hurt, Teagan forced herself to drop it onto the counter before she broke it. Luckily Sam was still downstairs helping to secure the house. She knew that Sam was only upset because he cared about her and didn't want her to get distressed about her past. He wanted her to focus on the here and now, to be in the moment with him, not reliving that ghastly past.

Footsteps in the hall told her that he and Steve were finished downstairs, and it seemed to have taken a bit longer than she would have thought it should. Had they talked for a few minutes about why Sam had been distracted all day? Maybe.

Closing the bedroom door, Sam gave her a weak but honest smile as she left the bathroom. Walking past her into it, his hand came up to gently touch her shoulder. It was the little touches like that which helped her to know that he was still not scared of her. She got the bed ready to crawl into as he brushed his own teeth.

Readying themselves for bed was easy considering all Sam had to do was remove his shirt since he was wearing soft exercise shorts. She remembered after first arriving here telling him that she would get a pair of long pajamas so that he didn't have to worry about touching her bare skin while he slept. Sam had pointed out that she would be getting rid of one of the best reasons for them to be in the same bed. How could such a good man be so patient with her?

After hearing that comment, she'd asked him how he would feel if she slept without any top or bottoms on, leaving only her panties. The smile that had appeared reminded her of a kid in a candy shop. That night, they had made love while trying to stay as quiet as they could considering it was the first time since being alone time in the snowy cabin.

Teagan felt warm arms wrap around her waist, pulling her against a hard, smooth chest. Sam's chin came to rest on her shoulder, his grip firm as they stood there quiet for a few moments. Teagan raised her arms to lay atop of his.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked him.

"Never," he told her with a sad voice. "I just don't like the idea of you reminiscing about the horrible things that jackass did to you."

Turning around in his arms so that she faced him, she could see a sadness on Sam's face. Placing a hand on his cheek, he tried to smile more.

"I know that you don't like it, but whether I'm reading through that file or just sitting down watching the sunset, the memories are always there."

That definitely made him not happy again.

"If I was really your therapist, I would go off on a diatribe about the possible mental harm that you could be doing to yourself to try and get you to stop," he told her.

"You're not my therapist anymore?" she had to grin.

Glancing down, "No, because a therapist would be banned for doing this."

With that comment, Sam hunched over just enough so that he took on of her breasts into his mouth, sucking on her nipple until it became hard. Her arms wrapped around his head to hold him there, a warm feeling encompassing her entire body.

After he moved to the other and gave it the same treatment, Teagan managed to heavily breathe out, "Then you're definitely not my therapist."

Sam moved them as one so that he was sitting on the bed with her atop of him. Even without telling him that the idea of being trapped under him was a possibility, Sam seemed to have easily figured it out back at the cabin and always made sure to never be the one on top. Her legs rested against his hips, allowing her to control how much she wanted to have her body touch him. Lowering herself, Teagan could already feel him firming up from just their few moments together.

Bending down, they began to kiss, each of them just as eager for the other since they had gone all day keeping a bit of distance between them. Sam's two day old facial stubble tickled over her skin. His hands rested on her hips, holding her against him while guiding her movements to circle over his now hardened shaft. He gave a couple of simple thrusts upward, grinding himself slightly harder at just the right spot between her legs.

Laying further down onto his chest, she began to rub her breasts over his own bare chest, remembering how she had teased him the other day about not having any real 'manly chest hair'. Sam had only come back at her by saying that a chest as nice as his shouldn't be hidden behind anything. She had then admitted to him that the smooth, firm surface was actually what she preferred, earning her a few winks.

Sam's hands slowly left her hips but she continued the wonderful movements all on her own. His free hands then came up to encompass her breasts, his thumbs flicking at her nipples to make them hard. Moaning into his open mouth at the sensation earned her one hard push upwards with his hips. The startled gasp from her as he made contact caused Sam to break their kiss, his eyes searching her face to tell him how she had felt about it.

"Care to try something new tonight?" he asked, his voice heavy and pleading.

The smile she had could not be contained, as she answered, "I think that I could handle something new."

"Think?" he gave her a knowing smile. "Or know, Erin?"

It was funny that he liked to use that code name when they were alone together.

"Know…not, no, as in n and o, but know…"

"I _know_ what you mean," he told her with that grin that showed off his cute toothy gap. "Do you trust me?"

"Absolutely, Falcon," she told him, using his nickname from the cabin.

That must have been the correct answer because Sam then gripped her hips and began to slide her off of him and onto the bed. He then gathered their pillows, stacking them together against the headboard.

"Lay back on those," he told her, gesturing with his head towards them.

Teagan used her elbows to crawl backwards on the bed to the area while Sam knelt at the foot of the bed. Laying there looking down her mostly-naked body at Sam just watching her, she felt her breath began to grow heavy. She almost expected him to remove his clothes, deciding that her comment was an invitation for going all the way. But then Sam moved so that he was kneeling between her legs.

It wasn't until his hand went under her knee to lift her leg up off the bed and his lips began to trail over her bare thigh that Teagan figured out what Sam was about to do. His beard tickled over her sensitive flesh, only stopping once he reached where her shorts finally rested so close to her core.

With a knowing look in his eyes, Sam's hands then slid under her thighs, reaching up until they found the hem of her shorts and panties. Slowly they began to be dragged down, exposing her center for him. As he lifted his head to look at her, she saw a new wide smile on his face, as if amused by something.

"What?" she asked totally embarrassed.

"I can't help smiling knowing you're a natural red head," he grinned while dragging her remaining clothing further down her raised legs until they were able to be tossed onto the floor.

"Did you ever have any doubts?" she had to ask, feeling better at the situation knowing he was trying to be playful and make sure she wasn't scared.

"Not really, but it's always nice to have an assumption reconfirmed," he told her, his hands coming to rest on her knees. "I want you to lay back, focus only on me, and enjoy this."

In a low voice, "What's _this_ …exactly?"

Sam's eyes narrowed slightly at her, before asking, "Have you never had anyone pleasure you down here," his hand came to rest between her legs, "with their tongue and mouth before?"

The clinically crude, lasciviousness of his question had her face instantly flushed with embarrassment as she closed her eyes, unable to look at him.

"I'll take that lovely shade of red to mean that you haven't," he told her. "Do you want me to?"

Knowing that she would never be able to honestly answer him if she looked at his face, Teagan only nodded her answer while her eyes remained closed.

"Tell me if you need me to stop," she heard him say as she felt his body begin to move.

His hands gripped gently to her knees, spreading her legs apart for him. She knew that with the lights in the room on that he was able to see every inch of her, and how she could feel her entire body now flushing with self-consciousness. Never had either of her boyfriends in high school ever done oral sex to her…but they sure had expected it.

Then her mind suddenly went to the last time she had been in this similar position…while being examined by the Hydra scientist running numerous tests and needing more samples. She had been strapped down to a doctor's chair that held her legs open wide, exposing her as she cried for them to stop through the gag locked around her mouth.

Sam was still trailing kisses on both of her inner thighs when he suddenly stopped.

"Teagan, what's wrong?" he asked her, a hand reaching up to touch her cheek. Firmly he told her, "Open your eyes and look at me."

Doing so, she could see worry all over his face. That was when she realized that her own breathing had become heavy and erratic…and not in the good way.

"It's not you," she first told him. "Laying like this…they made me…"

Her voice trailed off as tears threatened to form.

"It's alright. You are safe here with me. Nobody is going to hurt you ever again. I'll stop…"

"No!" she quickly interrupted. "I can't let them have a hold on everything out there that might be _nice_. And I have a feeling that everything you can do is _nice_."

Sam's cheeks were like large apples with the widest grin she'd ever seen him have.

"Then how about you to keep your eyes _open_ ," he informed her. "If you can see that it's _only me_ , and nobody else, I think you'll have an easier time enjoying the _nice_. Think ice cream."

Teagan felt a warm comfort overcome her, knowing that he was trying to help her past this new horrible time he was just learning about.

Sam began to resume his kisses on her inner thighs, his eyes cutting up to meet her own every so often to check on her. Slowly and carefully, he drew his lips closer to her core as her breathing began to intensify…this time in the good way. As his tongue made a quick sweep over the area, she inhaled suddenly and deeply, shocked at how wonderful the simple touch had been.

Seeing that she was no longer dwelling on the past, Sam took a few more gentle licks before he lost all mildness and began a brilliant assault that had her almost screaming out. His hands found a hold just under her cheeks to calm the grinding, circling motion that she was involuntarily doing trying to evade his tongue. Her mind wanted him to continue and never stop while her body was acting like it didn't know how to deal with the building pressure that was being coerced into it. She had felt something like this when they had their make-out sessions, but the intensity was nowhere near what she was feeling right now.

Her arms reached out to grasp onto the bed-sheet, gripping it in her hands to help steady her movements. Her back began to arch off of the mattress and one of Sam's hands slid over her belly to only stop when it had found a breast to hold onto. As she lay there, feeling like a volcano waiting to erupt, Sam's tongue began a new maneuver that began to break her in a very nice way.

Reaching behind her, Teagan grabbed one of the pillows and threw it over her face to scream into as her body was raked with spasming shakes. Eventually she felt her body physically collapse back onto the bed from where hit was arched from the most powerful orgasm she'd suspected that she would ever have.

"So, was that _nice_? Or did I finally earn a higher rating?"

"Iontach!"

"What was that?" Sam asked her, lifting the pillow off her face so she would be speaking clearly.

"Iontach," she grinned at him while still heavily panting.

"That better not be another insult," he told her sliding onto the bed next to her, his arm across her belly to hold onto her.

"It means magnificent, if you must know," she turned to look at him and found the cocky smile on his face that she had been expecting.

"I will _totally_ accept that fine assessment of my skills."

"I'm sure that you will," she placed her hand over his arm. "It feels funny to say _thanks_ for doing that, but I don't know what else to say."

"First, you don't have to thank me," he pointed out. "Second, any time that you want to try something, all you have to do is tell me. Don't feel embarrassed to do so either. Just like tonight, asking for just a bit more, that's all it takes."

Teagan rolled over on her side so that she was facing Sam, her arm coming over to pull him into her body, their legs rubbing together.

"What about you?" she asked him. "A bit of tit-for-tat?"

"Nope, not tonight. I know that your body is still riding a high that it probably hasn't had in a long while."

"That was even better than Iceland."

Sam's head lifted back a bit so that he could look at her better. That cocky smile of his was back.

"Really?"

Shaking her head, "Even with the other times we've been together, that was...just so much more."

"Then I'll just have to make sure that each time after this one is just as memorable."

After getting a couple of kisses, they began to move around the room, putting back on underware and using the bathroom once again before they climbed into the bed. The overhead light turned off only after she had turned on the small wattage lamp on the dresser. It was just bright enough to make her feel comforted while not disturbing Sam by being too much light.

Soon, they were both lying in the bed, his arm around her waist so that it rested on her bare belly, her hand holding onto his. His warm body was pressed up against her back, and she found it to be firm and comforting. Even Sam's hips and groin that pressed against her lower backside and cheeks felt so much different that she had never mistaken him for Keeling, even when spooning with him.

"Did we just have our first fight today?" she asked him just before falling asleep.

"No, we had that back in South Dakota," he sleepily informed her.

"We did?"

"Yep, the moment that you claimed that cricket was better than baseball," he told her planting a kiss on her neck's tattoo. "You know…I think I may have a plan for us."

"What kind of plan?"

"How about taking the day off tomorrow?"


	24. Sam and Teagan's Day Off

**Chicago - Wrigley Field  
** **The Next Day**

"How have you never seen _Ferris Bueller's Day Off_?"

"Sorry if not _every_ American movie made it all the way to my small town," she sarcastically told him with a smile while trying to still get comfortable in the hard plastic folding seat.

"Well then, the next movie night, it's getting played. Growing up, it was every high school kid's fantasy to have a day like Ferris had."

"What was so special about it?" she was still cautiously looking around.

"I'm not spoiling the movie for you," he told her bumping his left shoulder into her. "What are you looking for? Or do I even need to ask?"

"It can't hurt to look," she pointed out. No matter how enjoyable a day might be, Keeling was always there to ruin it just a bit.

"I chose these seats for a reason. We're high enough behind home plate that we don't have to worry about getting hit by a foul ball. It's usually not very packed either, which means that nobody should be too close to worry you. There is no way you are going to spot anyone you know."

Teagan felt her face slightly flush at his admission, knowing that Keeling was always on her mind when she went out in public.

"Until that man in pushing up daisies, I'm going to keep looking for him."

"Just promise me that you'll try to at least enjoy our day off," Sam told her holding out the basket of loaded French fries so she could get some.

Lifting up the hot melted cheese fry that was about to drip, she quickly held it up so she could drop it in her mouth. The strange taste of the cheese, bacon, and greasy fried potatoes was even better than she had anticipated. She gave a low moan as she chewed, already reaching for another one.

"And here I was worried that you might not like it," Sam told her putting some into his own mouth.

"It's potatoes, what did you expect?" her eyebrows quickly raising as she ate another small grouping.

"I should have known," he said. "This is just a snack. After a few innings, we'll get a couple of the hot dogs. Since you thought Steve's were good, I know that you're going to like these."

"Have you had them before?"

"No, not from here. But baseball stadiums in general are known for having the best hot dogs around. Some would argue that those street vendors in New York City with those metal push carts have the best, but I think they are slightly insane if they believe that."

Teagan laughed at how serious Sam was about his food sometimes. But so far, every strange American food she been offered she had ended up enjoying.

Their seats were just behind home plate, but just off to the right side. The area was called the Terrace and was up much higher than she would have expected. She would have to admit that this stadium was much larger than any cricket one back home. Sam had given her a small brochure about Wrigley Stadium so she could learn some about it. If it was a larger game, and the place was at full capacity, then it could hold just over forty-one thousand people. Seeing that, Teagan knew that there was no way she could handle being around that many people.

They game slowly progressed and Sam would point out the rules that governed a hit or strike while explaining what was going on. After a few innings, she was getting the hang of what was going on and found herself enjoying the game.

Around the fourth inning, they left to go get their lunch from the vendor stalls. Luckily they had Guinness beer so she grabbed them a couple using the fake ID that Natasha had furnished her with back in South Dakota. Since she'd never had to use it then, Nat told her there was no reason to change it. Sam was at the vendor two stall over grabbing them their hot dogs.

Reaching their seats, they passed each other their items once they were sitting down. That was when she finally got a really good look at the hot dog that Sam had gotten her. Glancing at the one in his hand, she saw that it was a perfect match to her own.

"What is this?" she asked him lifting the item up so he knew what she was questioning.

" _That_ is a Chicago Style Hot Dog," he proudly told her.

Teagan began a second examination of the item.

"But there's tomato slices, mustard, onions, relish, a pickle slice, and a pepper on it."

"Exactly," he told her taking a large bite of his. She could tell by his expression how much he was enjoying it. He looked over at her, seeing that she was still hesitant, "Trust me?"

That was becoming a very familiar phrase between the two of them, and she always said the same thing.

"Yes," she hesitantly informed him before just braving past her fear and taking a large bit just as he had.

Three bites later, she heard a smug, "Told you," from next to her.

* * *

"Let's wait here until the leaving crowd dies down," Sam told Teagan as he saw the swarm of people trying to get through the doorways to leave the stadium.

The place was only at about half capacity, meaning they were surrounded by roughly twenty thousand others, but still left a lot of open seats around them, giving a more open area feeling. He knew that Teagan would not have been able to sit in the lower, more popular, crowded areas so he had chosen seats up here for them. Even arriving, the people had been trickling in, but now it was more of a controlled mob as everyone rushed to get home. So far today, even when they went for food or restroom breaks she had not seemed skittish. Sam took that as a good sign.

"That's fine with me," she told him, sitting back in the seat so that she was slightly resting her head against his shoulder.

"So, how did you like your first baseball game?"

"After getting used to the rules, it was a lot more fun than I had anticipated," she told him.

"Better than cricket?"

He looked down to see her eyes wander a bit before she lifted her hand to wave it back and forth in a wavering motion.

"Fifty-fifty."

"Guess that's better than nothing," he told her, kissing the top of the baseball cap on her head.

Seeing one of the stadium's clean-up crew a few rows down, his eyes met the mans.

"Waiting for the crowd to leave?" the man asked him.

"Yes," Sam simply told him.

Pointing towards a back doorway further away from the center of the stadium, "Not a lot of people usually use that exit to the side street. Too much of a walk to the train station, but if you don't mind huffing it…"

Sam looked down at Teagan who nodded approvingly.

"Thanks, we'll do that."

They stood up and headed up the stairs to the far doorway. He made sure to hold her hand, taking the lead so he could scan the area for crowds or threats.

"So where to now?" she asked him.

"Well, since we're doing a Ferris Day, do you want to be surprised since you've never seen the movie?"

Teagan bit her lower lip as she considered the offer.

"I don't usually like surprises."

Sam felt a small churn in his stomach as the admission. Her life so far had been a series of very bad surprises. At least up until she had discovered they were really releasing her from being a prisoner.

"Then let me ask you this. What's the tallest building you've ever been in?"

Teagan's eyes widened into large saucers at his question. That question alone gave away their destination.

"Four stories," she then told him with all seriousness.

"Four?" he asked while holding up four fingers.

"Well, except for that building over in…you know, with the mission thing we did?" Sam knew she meant the terrorist with the bomb. "Before that, only four, and that's only because we were on the roof of a building throwing water balloons off it at a rival futbal team's fans."

"You little miscreant! Here I was thinking that you were always such a _nice,_ sweet girl," Sam told her while playfully squeezing her hand.

"I don't know where ya ever would'ave gotten that idea from," she told him as they entered the open doorway to the stairwell that was actually empty of people. It seemed the guy had been right.

"Futbal? You mean soccer, right?"

Teagan have a loud, long, exaggerated, single groan that lasted five seconds at the term. The sound echoed off the concrete staircase for a couple of steps, earning them a glance from another couple a flight below them.

"Why the lot of ya ever started calling futbal by the wrong name is beyond me," she told him with a laugh. "Ya don'na even use your feet on the ball."

"I'm just calling it what I learned to call it," he pointed out as they reached the bottom floor.

Pausing at the metal doors, he adjusted his baseball cap to make sure it rode low to hide his features as Teagan did the same.

Pushing open the door, he saw that the side street was indeed a lot less crowded than the front would be. Taking the lead, they began walking back towards the elevated train's station. They had walked the couple of blocks from the safe house to the nearest station, leaving Steve and Nat the only vehicle they had. They could easily get to the handful of places he was taken Teagan using the train.

He remembered how happy she had been at first seeing the train station. It turns out that back in her town, they had a stop for a train passing through and she'd been on it numerous times when she was with friends heading to a city for a cricket or futbal game. He was glad that it was associated with good memories.

It was late afternoon by the time they made it to the Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower. They made their way up the elevator with a tour group to the Skydeck. Tourist were wandering all around, taking in the views so they fit right in.

"Wow," he heard Teagan simply say as they came to a stop at the large glass window overlooking Lake Michigan. "This is magnificent!"

Sam felt his chest bolster out with pride at making her sound so happy with the simple stop. Last night was the only other time he could recall her using that word. Teagan reached out and placed her hand on the thick pane of glass, staring down at the ground 103 stories below them. Looking out over the Chicago skyline from such a height, he took a minute to appreciate it. Usually when he was flying around, there wasn't much time for sightseeing.

Teagan leaned in close to him, her mouth almost to his ear, "Have you flown this high before?"

"Yes, higher even," she looked pleased to hear that. "I've even fallen from higher than this."

That made her face fall, and her breath hitch. Making sure that nobody was too close to them, Sam began to tell her about the incident on the Helicarrier where Bucky had kicked him off, causing him to fall and use his parachute. He'd never been more happy to have that item than at that time.

"I forget about how dangerous it really is out there for you," she told him, leaning back onto him as he wrapped his arms around her. They stood there off to the side as others came and went, not disturbing them as they just enjoyed the time together.

Then Teagan broke the silence with a question that chilled him.

"What happens to me if you die on a mission?"

Sam felt his body tremble knowing that Teagan wouldn't ask that unless she was truly worried about the possibility of it happening.

Releasing his arms, he turned her around so they were face to face. Her eyes had a slightly red tint just at the edges, as if trying to hold in a strong emotion. He put in finger under her chin to raise it towards him.

"Teagan, nothing is going to…" he started to say but then stopped.

Technically, he couldn't…or shouldn't…say that. Because of what had happened to Riley, he knew there were no guarantees in life. Telling her that nothing would happen would be a lie, and he couldn't do that to her. He decided to start over.

"Alright, there is always a chance that something _could_ happen while on a mission. But even if something _did_ occur, _you_ would still be _safe_. Steve and Nat would continue to look out after you, unless you decided to go home once Nat works out your story."

He could see something guilty in her eyes at hearing that.

"What is it?"

"I kind of told Nat that she didn't need to keep working on that story anymore…I didn't want to go home. At least not anymore, right now," she admitted.

Sam smiled at her in understanding.

"You like being with us? Maybe one charming member of our group more than the others?"

"With an ego that inflated, I'm amazed that you even need the wings to fly," she told him, batting playfully at his arm.

"I'll take that to mean yes," he gave her a quick peck on the lips, trying to not bring too much attention to them.

"Can we stay here until the sun sets?" Teagan then asked him.

Sam glanced over their shoulders to look out the west windows, seeing the sun very close to the horizon already. There was no other tall buildings obstructing the view and he could tell that it would be incredible to see from up here.

"Sure," he said leading her over to that area so they could claim a spot. "Follow me. There's one more thing for you to check out."

Seeing the glass floor protruding observation boxes, they both hesitantly stepped into one, having nothing more than a couple of inches-thick glass supporting them over thirteen hundred feet up in the air. The straight down view was not for the faint of heart, and even he had a mild dread as he considered what could happen if the construction was not up to par.

Sam leaned over so he was closer to her ear, "I sure it's safe, but I wouldn't mind having my wings right now…just in case."

Other sightseers wanted their turn at the frightening spot so they moved to the side and stood in front of the west-facing windows as the sun slowly headed for the horizon. Sam liked the feeling of holding Teagan in his arms as they just watched the sky changing colors. The voices surrounding them started to fade away into a background buzzing noise as they just watched the show before them.

After a while, Sam noticed a slight chance in how Teagan's body felt in his arms, as if she had been slowly tensing up. Before he decided to ask if something had scared her, he felt her take a calming breath.

"In that cell, I used to wish to die," Teagan's voice was so low he almost didn't catch her words, but he unfortunately had and they sent a dreadful chill down his spine. A few moments later she continued, "Being trapped in the dark for so long, I thought that I would never see the sun rise or set like this again. No more blue skies. No more rainstorms. No more fog on the moors. No more rainbows. It was all gone and I believed that I would never see any of it ever again. Darkness and pain were all I knew for so long. There was no difference between an hour and a day. I would wake up and spend hours hanging there with nothing to do but cry because I was still alive."

It took a moment for Sam to realize that he had stopped breathing. Never before had Teagan been so emotionally open about her time under Keeling. He'd tried to get her to slowly open up a couple of times, but she would barely say anything before moving the topic on. Hearing her be so open and honest right now, he knew that she finally felt safe enough to speak her mind.

"I used to pray for a heart attack, an aneurism, a bomb going off, a guard with an angry trigger finger…anything that would finally kill me and put me out of my misery. But nothing ever did. I'm sure that it was only a few years in when I finally decided that if I couldn't get out of there that maybe I could somehow kill myself. They had already starting giving agents a gun with a single bullet to use on themselves. I'd already made too many of them die by my command. One day, I started to wonder what would happen if I just commanded the agent to shoot me instead of himself."

The sun was now just about to touch down over the flat, smooth land, casting a vibrant panorama for the depressing remembrance. Even though she had watched sunsets many times since coming to be with them, he was just now beginning to understand how important they were to her. Sam didn't say anything, wanting Teagan to feel free to say the words that had probably haunted her for so long.

"It was all I could think of the next time that I sat in that chair across the small table from an agent. He already had the gun pressed to his temple, his finger on the trigger. All I had to do was tell him to turn it on me and fire. But I didn't," her voice wavered as he felt her body begin to tremble in his arms as she gently wept.

Tightening his hold, Sam was at a loss for any comforting words right now.

"I wanted it all to stop. I wanted the darkness and the pain to go away. All I had to do was say a few simple words that would finally free me…but I was too scared to take that final step. I was afraid that if I died that my soul would be dammed to the worst possible fear I had. Darkness and pain. I would only be moving from one plane to another, and I would find myself right back where I was trying to escape from."

Sam felt tears begin to land on his bare arms that were wrapped around her, trying to comfort her. He couldn't imagine how depressed and miserable she must have felt to almost give into that temptation of suicide. They had talked of her growing up religious and how much it used to mean to her…before Hydra and Keeling.

What they had forced her to do had not only broken her mind, but broken her spirit, making her believe that she was damned to hell, just like she had told him that time after her nightmare so long ago.

"I tried to tell myself that it didn't matter if I committed suicide since Keeling had already dammed me to hell. But then I remembered the promise I made to him. After all that he put me through, I knew that with the evil soul that he already possessed, that when he dies that he is going to hell. And I intended to be the one to put him there. Hoping that one day that I would see him dead by my hands was the only reason I didn't do it."

Teagan's voice had slowly and steadily gone from being weak and frightened to firm and angry. There was no mistaking the sincerity in her voice at what she wanted to accomplish once upon a time. And if he was honest with himself, it sounded like she still wanted to.

Many times over the past few months since they had known each other, there had been times when her anger at Keeling would manifest but this was the first real time she had spoken her dream aloud.

Keeling had instilled a darkness in her that he was sure had not been there before she had been taken. From the stories she had told him, and the videos of her family and friends at her wake, she had been always happy and looking to have some fun. That hated man had taken that away from her, made it hide so deep inside of her that he was still trying to pull it back to the surface.

"Teagan, I know that your anger and hatred for him is never going to go away. He put you through more than anyone should ever have to endure. If I could make you forget everything done to you over the past years I would, just to know that you have some peace of mind. And so I will never tell you to forget and definitely not to forgive. And if given the chance, I will make sure that man is punished for what he has done. But I want you to be happy, like how you were before he came into your life. All I want for you to do is live in the now and know that for as long as I'm alive, you will never have to worry about anyone ever hurting you in any way again."

Sam knew that what he said was probably too much to be able to promise to her but she needed to know that he would always try to be there for her. Accidents did happen but Sam knew that if he was not able to be there for her that Steve and Nat would make sure that she was safe. Since they had taken her from the Raft, he was the first one that she came to trust. They had formed a bond even then, and over the past year, it had only grown into something more.

Even now, he didn't know if they both would call it love or just a deep connection that made them both so happy. But the thought of how she might not handle losing him, Sam knew that it would break her in a way that Keeling could never do. She had begun to rely on him in a way that was more than a therapist, more than a friend, more than a boyfriend.

Teagan had not spoken the word, but had she come to love him?

"I know that all of this is not going to last," her sad voice was heavy with emotion. Her hand came up to wipe her face dry and also the spots on his arm where more had fallen. "Eventually, there will come a time when you need to go with Steve and Natasha and be the superhero that you are. I know that I will have to learn to take care of myself, just like I used to. That I'll have to get over this fear of the dark. That I'll have to keep reminding myself that Keeling is not hiding in the corner of every room just waiting for me. I know that it will happen…"

"But it is not going to happen for a very long time," he interrupted. His arms tightened just a bit more and he placed his chin on her shoulder as the sun crept below the horizon. "Something with the Accords is going to settle the matter in one way or another. There are two outcomes: we will all be free to return to the lifestyle we used to have, or we will find ourselves turning back into normal citizens with day jobs. Either way, I don't see a reason why you couldn't stay with me…if that is what you wanted."

Teagan turned her head just a bit, touching her cheek to his, the warmth of her body a nice feeling.

"You would have me stay with you, no matter which way you had to choose?"

"Why not? In case you haven't noticed, I really enjoy your company. It's very _nice_."

Teagan laughed out loud, not able to hold it in with him using their shared term of endearment. It had easily become their word for love.

"That's the sound that I want to hear," he told her, reaching up with his hand to turn her face more towards his so that he could plant a kiss on it. The brims of their hats impacted, making hers tip down and fall off, exposing her lovely curly red hair. He bend over, picked it up, and planted it back on her head.

Looking out over the landscape, the sun was now gone, leaving an array of colors splattered across the darkening sky.

"Come on," he told her taking her hand in his. "I think that after all that, that a couple of pints would definitely be in order."

"Pints? You mean real beer, not that piss…"

His hand came up to press into her lips to stop her from using such vulgar terms where anyone could hear her.

"Yes, a real pint. In case you've forgotten, we're in Chicago. Hell, I spotted two Irish pubs just on the walk here from the train."

That sentence brought out the sparkle in her eyes that had not been there for the past few minutes. It seemed that she was really liking his suggestion as they moved with the other tourist towards the elevators.

 


	25. The Crooked Leprechaun

**Chicago - The Crooked Leprechaun**   
**Evening**

Standing just inside of the pub's door holding Sam's hand, Teagan took a moment to close her eyes and just inhale the scent of the place. The combined smell of all the ales and beers was the most noticeable. Next was the human scents, sweat and body odors mixed with colognes to disguise it. In the background, very faint, was a touch of the polish used on the long wooden bar.

It was enough of a combination that she was able to feel a familiarity from so long ago come over her.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked her since she had stopped moving.

With a smile she couldn't hide, she looked at him, nodding, "Yes, it almost smells like my family's pub back home."

Sam gave her a smile that told her he was glad to hear the comment.

"Then let's go get something to drink," he told her.

The place wasn't too crowded yet, but being a weekday, there was a chance that it might not get too bad tonight. Hopefully if more people showed up, that she might be able to handle being in the crowd. All she had to do was think about how she used to be at times like this, just enjoying the comradery. Between the baseball game and the skyscraper, Teagan knew that she had done very well with not letting those surrounding her become overwhelming.

 _Keep it up_ , she encouraged herself. _You can do this. Its just like back home._

Sam led her to a table near the back corner away from the door. It was secluded so that nobody should disturb them, and give them a bit of privacy to talk. Sam held a chair out for her and she noticed that the one he took allowed him to keep an eye on the door.

A female server brought over two menus and placed them on the table before them.

"Welcome to The Crooked Leprechaun, I'm Emma," she told them with a very slight Irish accent. She guessed that the girl was actually American raised by Irish parents. She placed two menus on the table then asked, "Is there anything I can get you to start off with?"

"Two Guinness pints, please," Teagan automatically answered for them, before turning to smile wide at Sam. "Did'ya want something too?"

Sam rolled his eyes at her but he couldn't hide the smile on his face at her jest.

"I'll have the same," he told the girl. "I can't have her out drink me."

"I'll be right back with 'em," she told them sounding amused herself.

They both took off their ball caps, hanging them on the hooks mounted to the wall next to the table. Glancing down, she saw that all the tables had hooks that could be used for hats, coats, or umbrellas. Taking her hand, she fluffed out her hair which had been squashed down all day. She had just re-shaved and trimmed it a few days ago. There were a couple of other patrons with red hair so she didn't even stand out in here.

"Sure you can handle two pints?" she casually asked him picking up the menu to see what they had.

"In case you've forgotten your birthday party, I think I did fine that night. And if I can't, we'll have to call Nat to come and get us."

"Not Steve?"

"Steve will never know that I've ever been drunk under the table. I'd never hear the end of it," he told her. "The group will happily drag out a joke for years if it's good enough."

When the waitress returned, she had only one pint for each of them, saying that she'd automatically bring the other when they started to get low.

"Decide what to eat?" Emma asked them.

"We'll both have the fish and chips, and a basket of the beer battered onion rings," Teagan then ordered for them, earning another look from Sam, his eyebrows raised. "Did'ya actually expect to come to an Irish pub and _not_ get fish and chips?"

"I guess not," he told her smiling as they handed over the menus as Emma walked away. "You did notice that both of those items were cooked in Guinness beer, right?"

"Of course I did. I wouldn't have ordered them otherwise," she grinned while taking a sip of her pint.

"Not only are you trying to get me drunk, you're increasing the chances with more alcohol in the food."

"Ah, don't be a stuttle, the alcohol _mostly_ cooks off," she told him.

"Now I'm a stuttle, whatever that is," he glared at her with his head cocked. "I _know_ that one was an insult. You realize that I'm an easy date. You don't have to get me drunk to take advantage of me."

Sam gave her a knowing wink and smile.

Picking up her pint, Teagan grinned as she held it up so they could knock glass. Sam held his as they toasted to each other.

"Here's to getting lashed tonight," she informed him.

"Now that I can agree with, as long as that means what I think."

Barely half way through their pints, their food was delivered. Ripping off a large chunk of the fish, she took her first bite hoping for the best. Closing her eyes, she would almost swear that it was her aunt's recipe.

"Oh, fecking hell, this is good," she told Sam with her mouth full.

He was nodding his head in agreement since his own mouth was also full. As they made their way through the meals and onion rings, she noticed that a group had gathered up on a small raised platform off to the side of the room. Watching them carefully, she could barely contain her excitement as she saw them finally bring out their instruments. Sam must have been curious as to what she was so focused on as he finally turned the other direction to see them too.

"Is that what you used to do?" he asked her taking a drink.

"Yeah. Just after the dinner rush, we would gather and play for a few hours, maybe two or three if we had tha' time. Sometimes a work schedule only gave us an hour, but we did'na care as long as we could play."

A few minutes later, they had warmed up and started to play, bringing back a heavy feeling of nostalgia. They sat and finished off the dinners and pints, the next round being delivered just like Emma said she would. A few songs in, one of the men from the bar who must be a regular, stood up and walked over to them to probably request a song. But when the band started to play, the man joined along as he sang the lyrics to _Biddy Mulligan_.

She watched as a few others scattered around the bar joined in, and it really began to remind her of home. He sang two more songs before returning to his seat, the bartender putting a fresh pint down in front of him as an offering for his contribution. More people had been filtering into the pub since they started playing but it still didn't seem crowded to her even with the growing numbers.

"Why don't you go up and sing a song?" Sam then asked her.

Teagan felt a nervousness encompass her very quickly. She couldn't remember a time she ever felt like this.

"I donna really sing," she told him, eyeing the man with the fiddle. Sam must have seen who she was focusing in on.

"Do you think he'd let you play if you asked? Do you remember any songs?"

"I think I do," she told him, as she watched his fingers gliding over the strings.

Teagan glanced down at her hands and fingers. Since leaving Wakanda, she'd not had a single problem with them. Everyday acts such as holding a glass, fork, or even opening a door no longer caused the radiating pain to turn into shooting stings. But playing would require a level of dexterity that she had not yet tested. Flexing her fingers, she began to wonder if she really could play a fiddle once again.

During her imprisonment, there had been times where she would play the song in her mind while mimicking the movements of the notes with her fingers. She was sure that there were still a few songs that remained memorized even if it had been a long time since she played them.

"Teagan, how are your hands doing?"

She looked up at Sam who was sitting there with a worried expression, knowing exactly what she had been considering. The smile she gave him was weak but honest.

"They're still good, they have been since…the injections," she told him, glancing over at the band that was taking a break.

"It couldn't hurt to at least go and chat with them for a few minutes," he told her. "Even if you don't play, you have something in common…music. Why not go over and request a song maybe for when they start again?"

* * *

Sam watched as Teagan slowly and nervously made her way through the pub to where the four musicians were sitting at the far end of the bar, close to their instruments. Three of them were guys but she made her way to stand next to the female that had sung a lot of the songs. After talking for only a few moments, he noticed the tenseness in her shoulders begin to fade.

They were a strange looking assortment, looking more like they were ready to fight more than play instruments. One of the young guys was wearing a wool cap that he'd only seen old men wear while wearing very casual clothing that didn't fit the tailored hat. Another with such a large beard that it reminded him of a hipster was dressed like a lumberjack. The other male had stark reddish orange hair, leaving to doubt as to his Irish heritage as it rested all the way to his shoulders, especially with the green shamrock tattoos lining both of his forearms. Even the female was wearing a beaten up black top hat and a ruffled red skirt.

Drinking more of his second pint, Sam still found the strong taste very bracing but there was something about it that he liked. Picking up one of the last onion rings, he nibbled on it as he watched the five of them begin to chat as if they were old friends. At one point Teagan turned to glance over at him, and she had a beautiful smile on her face. He was glad that she had taken the chance to talk with them. There was not a sign of fear at being surrounded by the pub's crowd.

One of the guys bent over and Sam watched as he pulled out a second fiddle, probably a backup one in case something happened to the one he favored. He offered it to Teagan who looked very hesitant about actually holding it. The two of them sat down on a pair of stools next to the stage. Sam could see her place the fiddle under her chin and begin to stroke the bow over the strings, but due to the noise from the numerous patrons talking, he was not able to hear anything.

As he watched, he saw her body begin to slowly sway with the song that she was playing, the effect a bit strange with no music to his ears to accompany it. But then, as he continued to watch, Sam noticed that the overall noise of the pub began to gradually die down. One by one, the patrons stopped their conversations to listen to the newcomer in their midst playing.

Eventually the mournful melody that Teagan was playing finally reached him.

Sam didn't know if the song would have sounded the same if he didn't know that she was putting her pent-up emotions into playing. All of the loss that she had just finally revealed to him earlier today seemed to pour out with each sorrowful note. Even from across the room, he could see that she had closed her eyes to block out all of the faces now intently watching and listening to what she was creating.

Then as she reached the final long note, he saw a single tear roll down her cheek.

The moment that she stopped playing, the entire place was bombarded with an uproar of applause for her performance. He had not been the only one impressed with her song it seemed.

The rest of the band quickly made their way from the bar back to their seats after quickly downing their pints, picking up their instruments: a flute, an accordion, a banjo, and a hand-held drum that he figured was the same one Teagan had described playing to him.

With a couple of starting beats on the drum, the entire group then began to play a much happier, lighter song that had a couple of the older, white bearded guys stomping their feet and clapping their hands. Sam sat back in his chair as he watched the merriment and overall cheer of the pub multiply with the upbeat tempo music. Teagan played a couple of songs with them before the guy who had handed her his fiddle picked up his own and the two of them began a type of dueling song. They would play a piece of song, earning applause from the audience before the other would take over, trying to outdo what they had just heard played.

Emma came over to their table, depositing two more stout ales onto it.

"On the house," she told him before he could point out they hadn't ordered more. "She's going to be thirsty when they're done."

She then removed their empty food plates, disappearing back into the rambunctious crowd.

A couple of songs later, the band took another break and after talking with them for a few moments, Teagan slowly made her way through the pub. If every patron didn't want to stop and shake her hand, she would have already made it to the table. Once she finally did, her hand reached automatically for the glass as she then began to try downing the entire pint without pausing.

"At that rate, I'm going to be the one carrying you back home tonight," he told her as she then slammed the half empty glass onto the table.

"Last one, I swear," her grin was ear to ear.

That was when Sam noticed a slight commotion from near the front of the pub. He could only watch as a guy made a bee-line for their table, his glare focused directly on Teagan. The only description would be that he looked like a hooligan...one that almost seemed familiar. He sported short, side-shaved hair that looked like it hadn't been washed in a week. Tattooed on his chin was a prominent green four-leaf clover, but his neck also sported a couple of tattoos. Those seemed more mob oriented, as if they marked his rank.

Sam stiffened a bit in his seat as he prepared for the possible upcoming confrontation.

Seeing the change in him, Teagan turned her now worried gaze to see what had drawn his attention and as she saw the guy still heading towards them she gave a hard, quick gasp of air. Sam had a strong suspicion that she recognized the guy.

Upon reaching their table, his eyes began to scan over Teagan's bare arms that exposed some of her tattoos. His wide green eyes met hers and then his hands formed a cross over his chest, as if needing that spiritual boost.

"Teagan! Wha' tha' bloody fuckin' hell are ya do'in 'ere alive?"

"Liam!" her voice was full of shock as the guy bent over to crush her into his arms in a tight hug. Her own arms wrapped around his thin waist.

"Ya're suppose ta' be dead. How the feck did'ya end up in 'merica?"

Teagan managed to extract herself from his arms while looking over at Sam for help with that answer. Seeing where she was looking the guys eyes narrowed onto him and Sam knew that there was a good chance that a fight was about to start.

"Who tha' fuck are ya'!? Wha' did he do ta' ya', Teagan?" he angrily spit out while taking a single threatening step towards him, his arm raising up to strike without waiting for an answer.

"Liam!" Teagan reached up and grabbed a hold of his bare arm, making him turn to face her. That was when Sam saw her eyes begin to sparkle, telling him that she was using her powers. " _Don't hit him. I need you to calm down_."

Sam was amazed at the sudden change in his demeanor with the command. Liam lowered his arm back to his side and his fighting stance became one more casual, as if just standing to talk with friends.

"Wha' th'a feck?" Liam calmly asked knowing that she'd done something to him.

Keeping her hand on him, " _Liam, I need you to not freak out. Don't speak. Pull up an empty chair and sit with us so that we can explain_."

Liam instantly turned and reached over to an empty chair a table away. He turned it around so that the back was against his chest as he sat down between them at the table. He could tell from his expression that he was afraid over the way that Teagan had taken control of him.

" _I need you to listen to what I have to tell you_ ," she told him, placing her hand atop of his on the table. " _Will you promise not to scream or call for help until you hear us out?"_

Liam looked between the two of them before nodding. Sam knew that she had given him this bit of self-control back.

_"As long as you keep your promise, you can talk freely."_

"Wha' did'ya do ta' me?" he simply started off.

"That's the reason that everyone thinks that I'm dead," she told him while Sam glanced to the rest of the bar to see if they had noticed their confrontation. None of the other patrons seemed to be worried about Liam joining them, maybe thanks to him giving her a hug initially. Maybe they had not seen the threat of a punch from him. Or didn't care.

For the next few minutes, Teagan gave a very simple explanation of what had happened with her faked death, telling him that she had been held prisoner for years before his group had freed her from Hydra. She did not go into detail about the Raft or Ross and left out who she was actually traveling with.

"Where tha' feck are tha' guys tha' did that to ya'? I'll make a few calls an' get them taken out. Nobody messes with our own," Liam firmly told the both of them. His body was calm but there was a menacing tone to his steady voice. The control that Teagan had was still working on him.

"Liam, you'll do no such a thing," she firmly stated. "It's not for you to do. I'm away from them now and Sam is one of the people helping to keep me safe."

"He doesn't look like much," Liam smirked at him.

Turning back to Teagan, he spoke a couple of sentences in Irish to her.

Gritting her teeth, Teagan responded in Irish to him in hushed angry tones, an angry finger poking at his shoulder hard enough to shove it, all while Sam had no idea what they were talking about.

"I'm sorry," Liam turned to Sam and then suddenly apologized. "I'll not be insulting ya' again."

Sam turned to her, "You don't have to stand up for me like that."

"Considering the rude things he just said, I absolutely have to," she told him with a scowl on her face.

"Do ya' parents know?" Liam asked her.

"No. _Nobody_ knows that I'm still alive. It's not safe for them to know. So that means that you _cannot_ tell anyone that you saw me."

Sam could see that Liam was a bit crestfallen with that admission.

"They weren't tha' same after they thought ya' died," he told her.

"I know. And maybe one day I can go back home. But right now, there is always a chance that the guys that took me would go there looking for me again."

"Then ya' need to talk with Quinn. He'll keep ya' safe."

"Quinn?" she said, Sam recalling that being the name of her cousin. "How would he keep me safe?"

"Quinn's made a name for 'imself back 'ome We all 'ave. He's over in Galway now, workin' for the boss," he told her a bit proudly. "We've shown our loyalty an' moved up the ranks."

Teagan gave a hard, sad sigh before firmly smacking his arm.

"Ya joined the mob? Didn'I tell tha' lot o' ya ta stay out'a trouble?"

"Did'ya ever know us ta' be listenin' ta' anyone tha' well?" Liam grinned at her.

Seeing a couple of the other patrons casually watching their talk, Sam began to think that they may need to get out of here before anyone else recognized Teagan or someone from the Irish mob came looking for Liam.

"Teagan, I think we need to head on," he told her, hoping that she understood his reasoning without having to say them.

"Alright," she said looking around the room just as he had. "I think it would be better to make him forget about seeing us."

"You can do that?" Sam was curious as to the extent of her powers.

"Yes," she told him before turning to Liam. With her hand on his arm, her eyes caught his as her voice commanded, " _Liam, after we walk out of that door, you will forget that you saw me here, and believe that I was a stranger. If anyone questions why you were talking with me, just tell them that we were talking about how I played. If they ask, my name is Moira and I'm from Dublin here on holiday. The guy I was with was a local and you didn't catch his name. You will never speak or write of me being alive to anyone_."

Sam could see the depressed look on his face as Liam began to understand that he was about to forget seeing his old friend alive and well. He hoped that the specific worded commands held up so that they were able to get out of Chicago without anyone being put onto alert and starting to look for them. Once out of here, he would talk with Steve and Nat about whether or not they needed to start to packing.

"Come on, Teagan," Sam told her taking their hats from the hooks and handing hers over. Speaking to Liam, "It was a pleasure meeting you, Liam."

Teagan put the hat on her head, tucking the longer red strands up under it to help with her disguise. Just as she started to stand up, she stopped.

"Liam, what is your phone number?" she then asked him.

He rattled off a series of numbers that she wrote onto the back of the receipt for their food that Sam had paid for while she was playing earlier.

Keeping her touch on him, " _If you ever get a call from me, only by hearing my voice say the phrase 'Liam, remember our time in Chicago' will you be able to recall all that really happened here tonight. Do you understand_?"

"Yeah, Teagan," he told her sounding a bit happier knowing that she hoped to be able to at least talk with him again in the future.

" _Liam, stay in that seat without speaking until we walk through the door_ ," she then stood, removing her hand from Liam's arm. "Come on, Sam."

They then moved together as one through the crowd, with him glancing over his shoulders to see that Liam was still sitting but had turned to watch them leave, raising his hand to gesture goodbye. Passing through the door, they paused long enough for a glance through the pub's windows to see that Liam stood up and looked around, as if trying to recall something. He looked lost as to why he was sitting at a table alone.

"That's some power that you have," he told her as her friend headed over to the bar and ordered a pint.

"I hate having to do that to him, but Liam, Quinn, and Sean were always looking for trouble. If I didn't make him forget, he would tell the others what had happened to me and they would go after Hydra, not understanding the real trouble they would be getting into."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder so that he could lead her away from the pub.

"I understand. What you did, it was to keep him, and them, safe. I can't fault you on that. It's good to see that you still have such devoted friends even after all this time," he told her making their way to the nearest elevated train platform.

"Are we going to leave Chicago?"

Sam shrugged his shoulders to her question, making her look a bit sad. That decision would be up to Steve and Nat after they had been told what had happened.

"We had a lot of fun today. I really enjoyed our Day Off."

Leaning over without stopping, Sam gave her forehead a simple kiss.

"So did I. Now let's get to the train and get home. Steve and Nat hopefully will still be awake."

* * *

Looking over at Nat, Steve digested the story they had just been told by Sam and Teagan about running into her old friend.

"And you're sure that you command of forgetting running into you, especially since he thought you were dead, will hold up?" Nat asked Teagan for clarification.

"Yes, I think so," she told her. "With all the experiments that Keeling did, never once was anyone every able to break a command."

"And nobody else in the bar recognized you?" he asked.

Teagan shook her head, "No. I didn't spot anyone and if they had known me, I would think that they would have said something too."

Nat then turned to look at him for the final decision.

"If it helps," Sam broke in, "We'll make sure to stay out of that area and restrict our movements to the local neighborhood."

"If anything, I would like to stay here for a while so that Nat can monitor Liam just to make sure that the command holds up," Steve told them, getting an approving nod from Nat with the idea.

They had never really requested Teagan to show such a display of her powers, but since it had happened, it would be interesting to see what happened.

"I can do that," Nat simply stated.

"So then we don't have to leave?" Teagan still looked a worried, maybe even afraid of them being upset with her.

"No, not right now. Besides, we usually have a few months at a safe house without ever being noticed," Nat pointed out. "And I just sent out some false information that Ross will eventually find stating that we are actually in a rundown hotel in Eastern Europe right now. So, staying put far away from there is a good option."

After Teagan and Sam had gone upstairs to bed, he and Nat headed outside to the back patio that overlooked the river to talk privately.

"Are you upset with her?" Nat started off.

"No, I'm not. She did the right thing, making someone forget seeing her," he told her. "If we are spotted anywhere while out, her powers could come in very useful."

"I can think of a few times when I wish I could have done something like that."

"I'm sure you can," he gave her a wiry grin, knowing how much more dangerous Nat would have been. "Are you comfortable with trailing this Liam somehow for a week or two?"

"Not a problem. I'll set something up in the morning since he's probably still drinking at the pub and will have a hangover, if my guess is correct."

"Let me know if anything happens," he told her. "Any information yet on Keeling?"

Steve knew that Nat kept putting out feelers about once a month to some of her more underground contacts. He was sure that if she had heard something that she would have told him before now.

"No, nothing yet," she sounded a bit disappointed. "But eventually he'll have to stick his head out of whatever slimy hole he's been hiding himself in for the past few years."

"I hope so," he told her, feeling a cold chill run down his spine.

He didn't think that was a good sign.


	26. Nat Get A Lead

**Unknown Hydra Base**  
Winter - 2017  


"Everything finally about set?" Henry Bradshaw asked him after the weekly meeting once the two of them were alone.

"Yes," Marcus answered, happier than he had been for the past three years. "I finally received word from the construction crew that the escape tube and hatch are finally in place. The explosive charges have also been set inside the hanger area and around the perimeter of the upper mountain. Once they go off, anyone on the landing pad and in the hanger will be crushed by the mountain coming down on them."

"Why not set more further inside of the base?" he asked.

"There is no telling _when_ they might infiltrate, meaning there is no way to know where _I'll_ be," Marcus pointed out, miffed that Henry hadn't taken that into account.

Or maybe he had.

"Very well," he said organizing the file in front of him. "How soon until you release the information for them to find?"

"Only a matter of days, maybe a week at most," he answered. "That will give me plenty of time to get the secondary expendable work crew together and have them reassigned to the base."

"You're costing me a couple of men with this stunt," Henry stated.

"I'm choosing from the less-than-mediocre remaining crop," he almost grinned. "Numerous reprimands on their records, failed missions, bypassed for promotion for too long. They'll see this transfer as a punishment, which it is. If anything, by the end of this mission, I'll have helped raise the standard of Hydra."

"Only if you succeed," Henry pointed out while standing up. "I expect results, Marcus. Getting Teagan is primary. Falcon, secondary. Get them and get out. Even if it means that the Captain and Widow are not dead. I've already had a higher up questioning my logic for even allowing this mission to take place. But they know the benefit that will come from having Project Cherry Tree back in operation."

"Trust me," he had to actively restrain his grin, "Having Teagan back is my main objective."

* * *

**Chicago Safe House**   
**Almost Two Weeks Later**

Sitting on the couch after dinner, Teagan felt a strangeness in the room, almost as if she knew that something bad was about to be discussed. But then, Natasha never really called for group meetings with _good_ news. Steve sat in the chair while Sam was close enough so that their feet were intentionally tapping at each others in a playful way. He had cornered her in the hallway not long ago and whispered promises of muffled pleasures once the others went to sleep. She'd been riding an anticipated high since.

"I received some intel early this morning that I have spent the day trying to research more, to confirm its authenticity," Natasha told them all with a weakly veiled sad expression.

"What kind of intel did you receive?" Steve asked. "I'm going to guess by the way you are acting that it's not just more terrorist to deal with."

It seemed that he noticed the same thing about her that she had. Natasha then took a breath before telling them.

"As you know, since Teagan first joined us, I've had a couple of feelers out there through some of my old contacts looking for anything they can find on Keeling."

Well, there went that major sexual buzz that she had going.

Teagan felt Sam stiffen a bit, now knowing what the information pertained to. His grip on her hand gave a reassuring squeeze. Especially after what she had told him about her time with Keeling, he would fully grasp how shaken she was going to be by this conversation, no matter what she found out.

"And?" Sam simply asked.

"It turns out that three days ago, a communique was intercepted by one of my contacts going to an older Hydra black market material's supplier. Part of it was a requisition request for a couple of specialized pieces of medical equipment used by geneticist when it comes to examining, manipulating, and storing genetic material. I spent the day looking into what he had found. It turns out that a group of Hydra scientist are being relocated to an older deserted base to set up a medical facility to begin experimenting with the 'genetic samples' that have been stored that were taken from a 'previous project'. A couple of Hydra agents have also been reassigned to become his test subjects. The Hydra agent in charge is Marcus Keeling."

As her mind wheeled around what Natasha was saying, Teagan tried to figure out exactly what she meant. Medical equipment? Genetic samples? Previous project?

"Are you saying that Keeling is now trying to use the testing that he did on Teagan…to what? Duplicate her powers?" Sam asked moments before she could.

"That's what my preliminary research on the equipment they've requested seems to indicate," Natasha answered.

By now, the chill that she had been feeling was a full-on freeze that penetrated all the way through her.

Standing up, Teagan began to shake her hands in front of her to try and get the blood flowing in them again so that the numb feeling would go away. She could feel her chest tightening as she took heavy breaths as her eyes became scratchy as the tears started to form. She knew that anyone looking at her would find her face as red as it would ever be. Walking around the couch towards the backside, her legs felt like they were thin twigs that were about to collapse under her. It was all that she could do to not openly cry in front of the others.

The only other thing she wanted to do right now was scream.

Keeling was trying to do duplicate her powers.

She knew that all of the testing that had been done to her had been to see if Hydra could determine exactly why her powers had manifested in the first place. As far as she knew, they never did discover exactly why it had. The closest they had ever gotten was the doctor's and Keeling's theory that the truth power could be manipulated into evolving into something more. That part had actually worked. Was it even possible to duplicate her powers?

Then there was whatever the doctors had discovered with all of the actually medical testing that they did to her. Even back then she didn't understand enough about medical procedures to understand the technical jargon that they used in front of her. There had been times when they seemed pleased with a sample or some small discovery, but none of that had been in the file she'd read. The medical reports must have been kept somewhere else. But could they use whatever they _had found_ back then to copy the ability?

Thinking of a loyal Hydra agent just walking up to anyone and commanding them to whatever they wanted filled her with a special dread. During her time with them, they luckily had not gone that far with using her. Bracing both of her hands on the back of the couch to the side of Sam, she dropped her head as images of worst possible scenarios began to fill her head.

"What is the possibility of him _actually_ being able to accomplish anything?" Steve asked, bring her back to the now.

"Depending on what kind of genetic samples he has in his possession…" Natasha started to say before Teagan interrupted her, not able to look them in the eyes as she gave them the answers they probably didn't want to have.

"Blood samples, hair follicles, skin scrapings, fingernail clippings, bone marrow, spinal fluid, multiple organs' tissue samples, and…numerous harvested eggs."

The other three sat there in stunned silence by her admission, the last one in particular which she knew they had to know about so that they would the severity of the situation. It wasn't just using volunteers to try and change their genetic makeup. Keeling could use the current medical technology to grow his own project from the eggs stolen right out of her own body. Those agents could be volunteering for something more along the lines of being sperm donors.

"Damn it," Steve mumbled while running his hands over his bearded face.

Whatever Natasha said was in Russian where she couldn't understand, but the tone was familiar.

Sam already knew that it was a possibility from a previous discussion in bed, but she was sure he did not like having to hear it aloud, especially in this circumstance.

"Then we definitely need to do something about him before he gets his operation up and running," Steve informed them with an authoritative declaration. "There is no way that Hydra can be allowed to gain access to that type of power. They could have an unknown agent walk right up to the President and have him order a nuclear strike, if they wanted."

Teagan now ran her hand over her forehead, wiping away some of the beaded sweat that had formed as she measured what she had learned. There was no other option but going in after Keeling. He had to be stopped and all of the samples that he had taken from her needed to be destroyed.

"Where is he going to be at?" Sam asked Natasha, a distinct anger present in his voice.

"I'm still working on the base's exactly location but they wanted delivery somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. It's my guess they are going to use one of the numerous ex-military bases there left over from the cold war. Most are bunkers that were made to house either missiles or supplies, in case they were needed. But they are not impenetrable, especially since it may not have any modern type of security. It's only a matter of finding out which one Hydra has set their eyes on."

"Any idea what type of resistance we are looking at so far?" Sam seemed ready to head out now to take care of Keeling.

"Not really," Natasha told him. "They were just looking to acquire the machinery and it seems that they are just in the initial stages of setting the location up. My guess would be less than twenty Hydra agents depending on the size of the location. If it's only going to be used to house this one new project, then there's a good chance that they'll keep their numbers low."

"But we are going to go after him, right?" she finally asked, needing to hear the confirmation aloud.

That was when all three of them began to glance at each other, some silent communication passing between them that gave her a gnawing feeling in her gut.

"What?" her voice was raised more than she intended. "I deserve to know _everything_ about this after what that bastard did to me!"

"Teagan," Sam's voice drew her eyes to his, and they were filled with sadness and worry. "Yes, _we_ are definitely going after Keeling. But probably not with _you_."

The only thing she could hear after Sam spoke was the hum of the refrigerator from the other room. None of them dared to say any more after that declaration. The chill she felt earlier was back in full force. Her arms felt like they were weighted down at her sides and her knees slightly buckled. Glancing between all three of them, she could not spot a single hint of shame at trying to take this moment away from her.

"No!" she forcefully told all of them. "There is no way that I'm getting left behind alone while you go after that fuck hole! I'm going to be there so that when he's taken down, I'll be the one to cut off his clackers!"

Natasha gave a single chortle at the term, even if she didn't agree with the rest of her statement. Both Steve and Sam seemed to squirm in their seats, their legs closing just a bit more at just the thought of what she wanted to do to Keeling.

"Teagan, I'm not going to allow _any_ part of Keeling to be removed, no matter how _satisfying_ that it sounds considering what he's done to you," Steve then comically told her trying to calm her emotions some. "I agree that you need to know that he has finally be dealt with but getting you into such close proximity to him…that's just asking for trouble."

"This will _not_ be like when we went after the bomb," Natasha stated. "These locations that Hydra is considering using are underground facilities. We will have to take each level one at a time, from top to bottom. They will have more time to mobilize once the alarm goes off. The lower ones will be prepared for us after only a floor or two."

" _And_ there's a good chance that I'll not be as useful at the location either," Sam pulled her attention to him. "If they are _underground_ , I'll either have to go in with Steve and Nat, without the use of my wings, or stay outside and hope that just the two of them can handle whatever they find."

"Until I found out which base they are at, all we are doing is speculating. No real plans can be made until them," Natasha finished.

Hearing their logical assessment of how the mission might go put a bit more perspective on it for her. She had always assumed that the base she had been housed in was underground. The trips in the elevator to the level they secured her on gave her a sense of heading downward. There was a good chance that this base too would be the same. It made sense that it was more defensible that way.

"But, we will try and hit them before they have a chance to fully set up shop," Steve informed her. "If they are still moving equipment and people in, they should hopefully not be ready for an attack of any kind."

"Can I at least go with you? Even if I have to say in the jet like last time," she offered more calmly. "That way, once everything is over that I'll be able to see for myself that Keeling is either captured or dead."

There was more glancing between the three of them as they considered.

"Let us find out what we can about the location first. Once we have some sort of plan of attack, I'll let you know," Steve responded.

Putting a slight cocky smile on her face, she said, "You know, I could just _make you_ let me go."

"But you are _not_ going to do that. That's _not_ the type of person you are," Steve shot back at her with a kind smile and she knew that he was right.

"Spoilsport," she gave a sad smile to him.

With the trust they had shown her over the past year and a half, he was right that she would never do that to them.

"I'll keep everyone informed of what I'm able to find out," Natasha told the group. "But be prepared to leave out of here at a moment's notice just in case. If I find out they are in a vulnerable position, we need to get there as quickly as we can."

"Should we head that direction, somewhere closer to Colorado? That way we'd be nearby?" Sam asked.

Natasha thought for a second before answering, "I think that Clint still has a safe-house somewhere near Pueblo. I can give him a call to make sure that it's in a ready condition. Would heading there by acceptable?"

Steve took a moment to think about it before he gave her a nod of acceptance.

Teagan then turned and began to head towards the bedroom, ready to pack her bag and get out of here the moment that Natasha had any more information. She could hear the footsteps behind her and knew by the gait that it was Sam following closely.

Reaching their bedroom, he closed the door once the two of them were inside. She reached into the closet to pull out the empty backpack only to have her hand stopped mid-reach by Sam's.

"We need to talk," he simply told her.

"Do I need to guess the topic of the conversation?"

Sam pulled her over to the bed and they sat down together on it.

"How are you handling hearing about finally having a lead on Keeling?" he started off.

"Well, I'd still be dancing a jig if Natasha had found his obituary."

"I'm a bit disappointed in that one myself," he told her with a honest smile. "But now we are going to get a chance to finally make sure that he pays for holding you prisoner all of those years."

"What about the others who he worked with? Why would they be moving him from the base where I was housed to somewhere new?"

"It could have to do with the possible dangers of this work, or they are trying to more securely protect it. We don't know where his initial base of operations is located. They may not have had the room to set up this type of operation. What can you tell me about where you were kept?"

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes as she remembered that horrible place.

"My cell was at the end of a long hall. Down another hall there were a couple of other small cells for agents or whomever to be placed into while waiting for their questioning, in the interrogation room. There was the medical room where they did…well, you know. Then there was the training room where the torture was done. If I heard the agents who worked for him right, there was an office or two for them to use. And even though I never actually saw it, I'm pretty sure that Keeling had some kind of living quarters there too."

Sam's brows furrowed as he considered this.

"So, Keeling never took you to his room when he…abused you?"

"No. He made sure that I was always locked up in my cell. He would never take the chance of being overpowered by me," she shook her head as she responded.

"It doesn't sound like there was much room there for him to set up the kind of facility that they would need to duplicate your powers. That's probably why he moving to the new location."

"There was more there than just him," she told him. "When they moved me around, I could hear other agents sometimes on the elevator that took us from my level to the ground one where we would leave from."

"So there are probably numerous levels," he nodded in understanding. "Once we can get him or any of the other agents into custody, we'll be able to question them in to giving up their main base's location. That's when your powers might come in very useful. You can get all the answers we need from them to take that Hydra base down too. Depending on what size we find out it is, we'll either go after it or have the information on it passed along to someone who can handle it, like Tony and his buddies at the U.N."

"Would they go after them? They seem to have been quiet for a while now. Natasha hasn't found anything linked to them for the past two years," she pointed out. "Would they even still consider them a threat?"

"They're Hydra. Of course they will go after them."

That did make her feel much better. She had heard a lot of the story about what had created the rift between Steve and Tony. Not once had she ever heard Steve actually talk bad or seem angry at him considering what he had done to his best friend. She knew that he hoped that over time not only would the two of them reconcile, but that the team would once again reform the Avengers. So it seemed like he would have no problem allowing the others take over the problem of Hydra if it became necessary, if they were too much for them to take on themselves.

Sam talked with her for a few more minutes about how stressful she might become as they waited for the information was searching for. He also mentioned that her nightmares might come back. Since they had started sharing a bedroom, the number of nights a week that she woke up frightened had dropped considerably. She could only hope that it stayed that way. They then readied their bags, leaving out only a change of clothes in case they needed to leave in the middle of the night.

Once they crawled into bed, Teagan ended up falling asleep in Sam's protective arms, hoping to get the chance to finally make Keeling pay for what he had done to her.

* * *

"Are you sure that it's a good idea to take her with us?" Nat asked him only after they heard the bedroom door close behind Teagan and Sam.

Steve sat back on the couch as he really considered the question. He agreed with what Nat had said earlier though. Until she found out any real information, everything was just speculation.

"I think that she needs the closure that would come from seeing Keeling, and Hydra, brought down. What they put her through…she needs to know that they are gone and that she is free to live her life without having to look over her shoulder, waiting for them to go after her again."

Nat's impassive face told him nothing of her own thoughts on his comment. Was even asking the question her way of telling him that she didn't agree?

"She did come in useful when it came to the bomb," Nat then stated as she leaned back next to him, propping her bent leg up on the seat so she could turn to face him. Now he suspected that she did agree with her going.

"We wouldn't be having this talk if she _hadn't_ been there with us," he agreed. "I still don't like the idea of her being anywhere near Keeling, but she's not really a part of the team since that's not exactly what we are anymore. She's more of a friend that is traveling with us. I don't really have the right to tell her stay at home and wait to learn what happens."

"Yes, you do," Nat told him. "No matter what you _want_ to call us right now, we _are_ still a team. Years ago, if we had been the ones to find Teagan being held by Hydra instead of Ross, she would have been given the option of either returning home or learning to use her powers and work with us as an Avenger. She'll never be a heavy combatant, but she would have been one of us. A simple twist of fate had her locked away for two more years instead of already having decided whether or not to join us."

Steve knew that her reasoning was sound...

"But that doesn't give me the right to demand that she stay behind, any more than it gives me the right to demand that she join us on the mission as a participant," he pointed out to her.

He watched her eyebrow raise just enough to be noticed.

"Are you now arguing against yourself?" Nat's lip slightly curled up on the end.

"I'm just keeping both options open until you manage to get us some intel that will help me decide one way or another," he pointed out.

"Well, then, I guess I had better get to work," she told him before rising to head back to her laptop that she had set up on the kitchen table.

Steve sat on the couch, debating if what he had said was actually how he felt.

Just as he was not Teagan's captor, he was not her leader either. The same could be said for his current relationship with Nat and Sam. They had decided to stay with him after everything that had happened with Tony. But he was no longer the 'boss', as Tony had liked to sometimes call him. How he wished that he could have both Bucky and Tony at his sides when going after Keeling...but that was probably never going to be possible.

If Nat managed to get the location of the new base that Keeling would be occupying, he couldn't demand that they accompany him to take it out any more than he could Teagan. The only plan that he should consider is one where he goes alone…while hoping that the others joined, as he suspected they would. But did that include Teagan?

He knew that there was a chance that having her with them could be useful, even if they didn't know what for yet. No matter how much they might have interrogated that terrorist for the disarming codes, he was the type that never would have given them up. But a simple request from Teagan had been all that was needed to pry it from his lips.

What if they ran into a similar situation at the Keeling's new base? Maybe a guard that could give information on the lower levels' security…or even a security code that would open every door for them. Or even better, one that would lock everyone away so they could call in reinforcements to deal with them. Steve thought about back during the war how useful it would have been to simply ask a Hydra guard a question and be given the answer he needed.

Giving a heavy sigh, Steve decided that the best course of action right now was to _not_ make a decision. He would give Nat the time she needed, they would investigate the location the best that they could, and _then_ he would once again visit this topic. Teagan deserved to know that Keeling was behind bars. Who was he to deny her that satisfaction?


	27. Surveillance of the Base

**Chicago Safe House**

It was four days before Nat felt that the information she had gathered was sufficient enough for them to discuss and make a decision on. The others had, for the most part, given her some privacy as she researched and talked with her contact numerous times. There were of course the glares if they caught only a piece of the conversation, making them pause while wanting to hear more. She would just wave them off, or even better, give them one of her looks.

Nat could tell that as the first day passed with nothing being discussed in the group that Teagan had started to act a bit more skittish, as if even little noises the house made was a sign of a preemptive strike from Hydra. She knew that with the knowledge of Keeling still being out there, alive and active again, that it was hard for her to deal with.

Last night, she had even heard the low scream of her being woken out of a nightmare. The last time she had heard such pain like that had been during the first few days being back with them after leaving Clint's place. Over the months, Teagan had managed to find a much better, peaceful sleep…especially once she and Sam had begun sharing the bed.

Walking into the doorway to the den, she paused when she saw the pair lying together on the couch. Sam was sitting against the armrest while Teagan was curled up against him sleeping. Her hand had found a death grip on his shirt's hem. Even in her sleep, she could see the whites of her knuckles has she held onto him for dear life. When she had first seen Teagan this morning, the dark circles under her eyes that had been forming over the past few days were clearly visible. She now seemed to almost be back to how she was just after being given her freedom.

Maybe letting her at least join them on the mission and staying in the jet would be the best. She could still remember the frightened look Teagan had when they had returned to the Spanish villa and found her scared with all the lights on. If they left her behind again to go after Keeling, Nat knew without a doubt that Teagan would once again find herself in that lonely, frightened place where he was behind every door waiting for her. Nat couldn't be the one to mentally put her back there. If Steve decided that Teagan should go, she would back him in the decision.

Giving her throat a simple clearing sound, Sam turned his head to see her standing there. Raising his eyebrows in silent question, she nodded in response. It was time for them to discuss what she had found.

* * *

"The supply request that I was contacted about gave a date for the equipment to be procured and delivered by, and that being three weeks out as of the first contact seven days ago. That seems to indicate that they are still in the very initial stages of setting up this new base. Without that equipment already being there for setup, I highly doubt that they have brought in the scientist or medical personnel who will be using it," Nat informed the group assembled in front of her, eager to hear what she found out.

"So then the only ones at the base will be low level agents preparing it for everyone else's arrival?" Sam asked her.

"That is a big possibility," she told him. "I would at least suspect some type of security people setting up alarms and getting the computer systems working. Keeling may be there to personally see preliminary setup or he may pass that along to one of his flunkies to take care of. It depends on how much control he would like to have over something like that."

"As much as possible," Teagan jumped in. "He never kept a second-in-command around for very long. After a specific incident, he wouldn't keep _anyone_ on his project for too long, worried that they would become too attached or emotional. He liked to swap out guards after only a few weeks, I'm not sure of the actual time."

"Then it sounds like he's the type that would personally oversee the setup of a base possibly designed to house only his own new project," Steve stated. "I think that a few days of recon on the location would be advisable. Getting actual eyes on Keeling before moving in would be the best case scenario."

"Do you know which of the bases they are at?" Steve asked her glancing at the map with two areas in red circles.

"After narrowing down over a dozen bases for different reasons to only two, I'm confident that it is this one," she stated while pointing at the dot highest on the map, located north-west of Denver over the mountains.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"Because I had a guy that owed me a favor, and that I trust, to check out this one," she pointed at the most south-east dot, "and found zero activity of any kind for the past decade. Plus, parts of the interior were falling down, making it very unstable. It would be too much construction work to get it ready for use."

"So does this mean we are heading to Colorado?" Teagan asked, a mix of nervous, anxious excitement in her voice.

They all turned to look at Steve for the final decision. She knew that he was going to agree to the mission, but it was Teagan's involvement that still had him worried. Even though she might be wary of letting her actively join them when they made their move, Nat knew that with the powers that Teagan had that she could be very useful.

"We will take as many days of reconnaissance as necessary before we move on this base. If we see no activity, then we will continue to wait in case they are not moving in until all of their equipment is ready. We have time on our hands, and we are not going to rush into this at the first sign of a low-level agent. The mission is to locate, capture, and turn over Keeling to the authorities, along with a copy of Project Cherry Tree's file so they know exactly who they have in their possession and the crimes that he's committed," Steve firmly stated, looking specifically at Teagan and Sam. "Pack your bags, we'll leave in the morning."

* * *

"Are you sure you want to go with us?" Sam had to ask her later once they were just finishing getting ready for bed. Teagan was turning on the small lamp that she still preferred to have on at night. "I know that I would feel much better if you would at least stay at the safe house during the raid."

"I have to see him, I have to know for sure that he's taken down," she told him.

There was something in her voice. She hadn't sounded so small since they had first met.

He knew that Keeling was her greatest fear but for the past few months she had grown determined to not let him control any part of her life. The nightmares were almost all gone, only coming back over the past few days. She was able to go out into small crowds without thinking that every person making eye contact with her was a Hydra operative waiting to capture her. Her wonderful, playful personality had reemerged so much and he was worried that it was all about to go away.

"It would be just as easy to show you his pictures once we take him prisoner," he pointed out taking her hand as she tried to walk past him to her side of the bed. Pulling Teagan to his chest, her beautiful green eyes boring into his, he decided to not hold back. "Please. I don't want you to be there. I need to know that you are safe."

Teagan's hand slid to the back of his neck, pulling his head towards hers where they met in a passionate kiss. Grabbing onto her hips, he locked their bodies together, determined to show her how much he cared for her. Beyond the pounding in his own chest, he felt the increased heartbeat from her. Already growing hard, he felt her body push even more into his, her hips beginning to grind against the only part of him that he couldn't control right now. His body wanted hers in a way that he had managed to hold off on for so long.

Breaking their kiss, he saw that the green of her eyes had turned into dark pools with her arousal. They had blown out so much, the green almost hidden. They heavy pants became synchronized as they stared at each other with matching grins. He could see that just from that kiss her red lips were plumped.

"Staying back, that's not going to happen," she broke the silence, denying him the answer he wanted to hear from her.

Teagan didn't seem to have a problem with it as she hastily ripped her shirt from her body, tossing it away before moving right on to her bra. In no time at all, she was half naked resting over him as he sucked both of her breasts until her nipples hardened in his mouth.

Her hands then traveled to the button of her jeans, undoing it before slowly beginning to lower the zipper.

Sam reached up to pull her mouth back onto his, wanting to taste more of her. Teagan's fingers began to trail the hem of his shirt seconds before it was gone, tossed away.

"If you start to reminisce, I want you to tell me," he told her between kisses. "Don't wait for him to get to you."

"I won't," she promised, grinding her hips down onto his lap.

"Then how about letting me take the lead?"

Teagan's eyes shined with a playfulness he'd only seen a few times before.

"I'm yours, Falcon."

"I know, Erin."

With that, Sam helped Teagan into a standing position as he knelt before her. Taking the waist of her pants in his hands, he slowly began to drag them downward, placing kisses over the skin which became exposed on her legs. Stepping out of them, she stood there only in her panties, which he wasted no time in also removing.

Turning her around as he knelt in place, Sam sat her down onto the edge of the bed, her legs spread for him. Trailing kisses higher and higher up her thighs, he listened to the heavy panting coming from Teagan.

* * *

Teagan slapped her hand over her mouth to stifle the scream of pleasure as her rode higher on the pleasure that Sam's tongue was inducing. His hands had not been idol either, having found their way up to her waiting breasts. With each wonderful nip of his teeth he would take, she also received firm pinches to her hard nipples.

As she lay there after already having fallen onto her back, she felt Sam's warm body start to slide higher over hers, his mouth leaving kisses over her hips, to her breast, before finding the sensitive flesh of her neck.

"You taste so sweet," he whispered in her ear as he glided his naked shaft hard against her core, causing a sharp intake of breath for the pleasing move. She lay there eagerly waiting for him to finally make that final thrust. Instead, Sam told her, "Hang on."

Teagan had already mindless wrapped her arms around him once he was atop of her, but now she clamped down as Sam rolled the two of them over so that he was now lying on the bed with her straddling her. Reaching over to the nightstand, Sam opened the drawer and pulled out a wrapped condom.

The second Sam had finished sliding the item on, she slammed her body down onto his, both of them ready to forget about what would be happening in a few days.

* * *

**Colorado Safe House  
Days Later**

Arriving at Clint's safe house, the group was quiet as they wandered through it and claimed the different bedrooms as their own. Knowing that they were possibly so physically close to the target had everyone on edge. Steve wasn't sure who felt it more, him or Teagan. Her connection to Keeling was one that he would never wish on his worst enemy. But as leader of this group, everything that happened from this point forward would be on his shoulders.

After settling down for a few short hours, Natasha went about preparing the small security cameras that would be situated around the possible Hydra base. He and Nat were the only two heading out tomorrow night. Flying as close as they dared, a long hike through the woods would finally get them to the base. They would spend only a couple hours learning what they could about the location while setting up the cameras. Until this initial reconnaissance found proof, he knew that there was always a chance that Keeling might not actually be there.

The intel he had gone over showed that Hydra appeared to be readying to move into the base, and it seemed that the genetic information procured from Keeling's project was the reasoning. But there was always a chance that Keeling himself might not make an appearance. He may be running the project from the base he held Teagan at, for all they knew.

Since they were so close to a possible Hydra base, he had also instructed Nat to make some additional upgrades to this safe house's security. He didn't want to take the chance of leaving Sam and Teagan here without being ready for anything that might happen. If he and Nat were somehow discovered, Steve wanted to make sure that nobody would get into here before some form of backup appeared. Nat had already contacted Clint, who said that if necessary that he would beg Laura for permission to come help them. Wanda had checked in with him and was still over in Europe, so he didn't expect her to drop everything and run back here. And he knew, also thanks to Nat, that Scott was under house arrest and couldn't help.

So for the immediate future, it would still just be the four of them. How Steve suddenly missed being surrounded by all of the Avengers, especially Tony with his irritating inappropriate comments that helped to lighten the mood. A bit of levity would probably have helped Teagan right now.

After Teagan turned down Sam's offer of riding with him to the grocery store for some fresh food, Nat passed him a knowing sad look across the table from where she was working. Teagan had practically been Sam's shadow for the past few months, not once refusing to go with him on such a simple trip.

Seeing her sitting in one of the arm chairs staring out of the window towards the driveway Sam had left at not long ago, Steve took up a spot on the couch nearby.

"He'll be back and everything will be fine," he tried to reassure her. "You could have gone with him."

Teagan didn't even look over at him as she responded, "I can't take that chance."

Steve knew, just as they all did, how hard finding out about Keeling and this base had been on her. They'd all been woken up from her night terrors multiple times in the past week or so.

"We're almost two hundred miles away from the base," he explained. "They don't know we're coming, they don't know where we are, and they're not looking for us in the suburbs."

Teagan turned to him, "How can you be so confident when all it would take is one slip-up and they could find me…I mean us."

He knew that he'd just heard her worst fear…being recaptured by Hydra and Keeling.

"You'll just have to trust us to keep you safe," he hoped he sounded as confident as he was trying to be. Steve knew that no matter how much planning or preparing they did for a mission, there was always a chance for something to go wrong. Bucky was proof of that.

* * *

He and Nat were about halfway down on the opposite mountain's shoulder over from the Hydra base. And just from the little bit of activity that they had managed to spot so far, Steve knew without a doubt that a Hydra base was exactly what it was.

There were only a handful of guys moving around on the open concrete area that he could see with the binoculars that Nat had provided him. They must be on the lowest rung of the Hydra totem pole since they were in the middle of painting markings on the open flat area that looked like it was perfect for a helicopter landing pad. The outlying area past the concrete had been recently cleared of undergrowth so he could see freshly turned soil. That also meant that there was no cover for them to use to get inside of the doors, it was all open area where footprints would be well spotted.

The only other way to get to the base was a very old dirt road that was mostly grown over with vegetation from the surrounding thick forest. Before they had come to their current location, Nat had taken their hike on a detour to it so they could ascertain how much it was being used to bring in supplies. There were a few single file tire marks to indicate that motorcycles had recently used the dirt road, but no larger vehicles.

They did manage to find a large clearing very close to the base's fence, big enough for them to land the Quinjet at. It was not visible from the base due to the trees but they could just make out the landing pad's open area. They could easily land here if and when they moved in on the base.

His gaze traveled to the small guard house located by the simple metal wire fence's only visible gate. It was closed and chain locked. There was not any type of equipment he could spot to clear the road, so Steve guessed they would be ignoring it.

Most of the base was situated inside of the granite mountain, with the only visible entrance resting atop a jutting ledge that was a fairly good size. Angled concrete walls jutted out on each side, also complicating any stealthy attempt to get inside. Right now, the large metal doors which led into a very enormous empty garage or storage area were wide open, giving them a decent view inside.

It was too small for planes and maybe helicopters to enter, but it would easily hold a couple of vehicles, of which they only spotted three motorcycles. But there were a couple of large wooden crates that looked new sitting closer to the opening. He guessed that the interior of the base was not ready for whatever they held.

"Looks like we won the lottery," he comically commented as he crouched next to a pine tree.

Even from their higher vantage point, there was little chance of them being spotted by the Hydra workers. From what they could tell, they didn't even have lookouts posted yet.

"Yeah, us," Nat dryly stated from next to him from where she sat on a fallen log. Glancing at her watch, "We still have a few hours until dark. I would rather wait until then before moving around to put up the cameras."

"I agree," he told her. "It looks like the intel was spot on. These guys haven't been here very long at all, maybe a few days at most."

"With them turning up the soil that much, we're not going to get a second chance at moving in on them," she pointed out. "No sneaking in for a closer look."

"That's fine. All I'm looking for is proof of Keeling being here for us to make a move on it. If we don't spot him after a reasonable time, I'll consider turning the information we have on this location over to Shield and let them deal with them."

He felt Nat's eyes turn on him.

"You'd hold off on taking down a Hydra base? That doesn't seem like you."

"Whatever these guys are readying for, it probably means that whoever shows up at this base is most likely going to be more along the lines of scientist and technicians, not combatants. If we head in there, I would suspect a small number of armed security and a lot of defenseless others."

"Makes sense," she told him, "but if we do go in, we will still need to be able to contain them."

" _If_ they are here before we move in. Even if Keeling shows up, it could only be for an inspection lasting a few hours, or even a day, of the ongoing work. We need to move in on him not long after he arrives so that he doesn't get out of here."

"You sure I can't have a few hours alone with him? I'll make sure there's nothing visible when I'm done."

Steve looked over to see Nat with one of her amused smirks that told him that she was serious but knew that he wouldn't go along with it.

"Don't tempt me like that, Nat."

He was treated with one of her rare soft laughs.


	28. Attack on the Base

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the next are about the same length. I didn't see any good way to break them down without interrupting the story's flow. I hope you enjoy sitting on the edge of your seats for a while.

**Colorado Hydra Base**   
**Days Later**

As the modified Osprey hover-plane made its final approach, Marcus unsteadily adjusted himself as he sat in the uncomfortable metal seat. Sitting like this for so many hours had irritated the old injury to his leg. He could already tell that his limp was going to be much more pronounced when they finally landed.

This was the first time he had left his home base for any extended period of time since Hydra's downfall. Bradshaw had no other uses for him outside of the base with Teagan gone, so he had only left to go to surrounding areas for days at a time to get out of the underground base for a bit of fresh air, daylight, and openness. He found it ironic how he indulged in the three very things that he had enjoyed denying to Teagan for all those years.

And now he was dangerously putting himself back on the front-line in a hopeful attempt to recapture her.

Since he had never worn a weapon inside of the base, Marcus had to consider if wearing one now would seem out of character. Years ago, he never would have left his personal room without something strapped to his hip. Traveling with his Project, he had guards to deal with any issues as they moved between bases. But now being out in the open as a target, he'd finally decided that it would be logical for him to have something. So he double checked the pistol on his right hip since his left hand would be occupied by his cane.

" _Two minutes until landing_ ," the pilot's voice came over the headphones that he was wearing.

"Make sure you land at the marked spot, no deviation," he instructed. The explosives were in place and he needed this plane to eventually get out of here with Teagan. A landing and storage spot away from the hanger had been prepared from where the falling debris of the mountain would gather. He didn't want to take the chance of escape vehicle getting damaged during the possible upcoming fight.

" _Yes, Sir. The landing spot has been specially marked for us_."

He and the co-pilot had no idea what was really going on. There was a limited number of agents who did hoping to prevent any possible leak of his mission getting out. The group with him looked like standard grunts but were in fact the strike team that would hopefully be capturing Teagan. It was the preliminary cleaning crew which was disposable.

Touching down, they began to file out of the back ramp past the empty cargo boxes that were supposed to give the impression of equipment being unloaded into the new base. It was a lot of deception, but if it worked out in the end, then it was worth it.

Reaching the landing pad, the wind from the upright propellers whipped his short hair around as an agent appeared at his side while another followed him carrying the two luggage bags that contained his personal effects. He was here for however long it might take their base to hopefully be discovered by the right people.

"Sir, we have your accommodations prepared for you," the agent practically had to yell as the engines finally began to shut down.

Looking around the area, Keeling decided to use his arrival as a chance to make his presence known. He began a wide sweep of the landing area, surveying the outlying forest and mountains. It was about mid-day but the temperature was slightly cooler than he would expect, probably due to the altitude.

The workers who had been sent here to start making the area look like it was being up prepared for permanent use were standing off to the side near the large open doors to the base. Their new commander's arrival seemed to have garnered some attention. He wondered how much they had heard about him over the years. Maybe a few of them had even seen him coming or going with Teagan bound for transport. To drive home that he was not someone to get lazy around, he decided to start off by adding to their already heavy work load.

Seeing a large pile of boulders that had fallen from higher up the mountain piled close to the doors, he decided to use them.

Pointing his cane at the tired looking group, he motioned for them to come to him, which they scurried to do.

"I want those rocks out of my sight," he firmly instructed them, pointing at the offending items.

He could see all of their shoulders drop at knowing how hard the task was going to be, which was why they hadn't done it already.

"Yes, Sir," one of them stated before they moved off.

Marcus walked the perimeter of the pad inspecting nothing in particular before finally heading inside. He would have to make sure that he gave similar orders every day until they were sure they were being watched. He also knew there was a chance that the attack may happen without any type of warning.

"Sir, I'll show you inside," Agent Harper of the strike team, wearing dirty work overalls, came to stand next to him while another lower agent held took over control his two bags from the disguised strike team agent.

"Very well," he told him, turning to finally go inside. Only once they were inside of the base's main door, out of earshot, did he speak again. Cryptically he asked, "I want to see what was prepared."

"I thought you might," Harper nodded his head, then indicated a metal passage door close by.

Following him inside, they began to work their way through the concrete passages. He had received the reports from the initial team sent out to prepare the base so he knew the work had been done, but he wanted to see it for himself. After only a few turns, they reached a plain door which had been painted red. The color would help him to find it easily later on.

"This is the escape route," Harper stated as he opened the door to show him the metal rung ladder that went straight up. The space had originally been a closet under thirty feet of solid rock. But, he had a construction survey crew come and find the best location for an escape tunnel to be created. The distance from this point here to the surface of the mountainside was the shortest distance. It had taken then just over a month to have it ready. Once it was, he'd had the information about the location leaked out.

"Where is the trigger for the symtech?" he asked looking around.

"At the top, next to the cover lid, that way there is no chance of the explosive going off without someone intentionally making it," he told him.

For him, this would be the worst part of the entire mission. With the deterioration of his leg muscle, he could still get up the rungs but it was going to be very painful. Once back outside, the trip down the mountain would be just as hard since there was no distinct path to make the trip on.

"Is the cover well concealed?"

"Yes, I did it myself," Harper told him. "I found smaller rocks from the immediate surrounding area along with dirt, limbs and leaves. It's covered in at least three inches of debris making it impossible to just stumble over. But the material is lightweight so that you can easily push from below to open the hatch."

Marcus was impressed with the effort he had gone into. It seemed that Harper had been a good choice to use, so hopefully his strike team was just as efficient as he was.

"From this point forward, tell your men to be prepared for a raid on the base at any time. No one is to go out beyond the fence. I don't want to possibly spook anyone out there watching us."

"I'll inform my team," Harper said. "I'll show you to your quarters."

As they headed, Marcus wondered how long it would be before they made their move. There was no way to know if the faulty information had even made it to them.

All he could do now was sit and wait.

* * *

**Clint's Safe House**

"He sure didn't waste any time letting them know who was in charge," Sam told the group as they watched the video feed of Keeling arriving at the base and immediately ordering his men into a pointless task. It was almost comical watching the three guys trying to push a good sized boulder that had fallen off the mountain away from the entrance to the base.

For the past five days, Nat had the feed playing constantly on a laptop but with all of the workers constantly moving around the outside, she had set up a secondary analysis to monitor for any type of heavy activity. They had just been alerted by an steady beeping which quickly became annoying. The only one who had not hurriedly moved to the laptop was Teagan.

Instead, she was standing frozen in the den watching them huddled around the kitchen table.

"Is it him?" she finally asked, her voice soft and worried.

"Yes," Steve simply told her.

"It looks like he's using a cane," Steve commented. "Did he have one when you last saw him?"

"No, but he did have a limp."

Sam had only found part of the file on Keeling, most of it dealing with his time as head of Project Cherry Tree. There was no record as to why he had that injury that gave him the limp. Even after spending eleven years with him, Teagan had never learned why either. He was not one to give out personal information, Sam had learned.

"Did you see the bags that were brought out of the plane with him?" Nat pointed out, rewinding the video a bit so that they saw what she had. Indicating them on the screen, "I'd guess that those are his since the other all are carrying duffles, and they're large enough that I think he's planning on being there for some time. If he was there for only a day or two then he could use a much smaller single bag."

"I agree," Steve nodded as he sat down on the closest chair and began to watch the screen.

After Teagan had gone to bed for the past two nights, the three of them had taken a few minutes to discuss how to carry out the mission with the information that Nat had been able to obtain on the base. But eventually he had also brought up the possibility of just giving it a pass and letting real authorities handle it. Sam could see that his mind was contemplating on whether to not to go ahead with the mission to capture Keeling or to just pass it off to Shield.

There was always a chance that if they passed it off that a Shield team might not act in time while he was still at the base or that they may not make him the same high level target that they would.

The biggest motivation for all of them was trying to give Teagan some piece of mind when it came to Keeling.

Even before Steve spoke, Sam knew what he was going to say.

"We're a go."

* * *

**Hydra Base - Hours After Arrival**

Marcus had gathered the Strike Team members in the small conference room for a final detailed meeting to go over his instruction as to what he expected to happen here once they were, hopefully, attacked.

"The only ones at this base who know of the real reason for us being here are as of right now in this room," he started off. "Every other agent at this base is to be considered expendable for the duration of this mission."

"We understand," the Team leader named Hawkins responded, getting acknowledgement nods from the others.

"Good. Now, have there been any signs or reports which show that our location might have already been compromised?" he asked.

"Not as of yet," Hawkins told him. "We did an initial patrol days ago when we arrived, sending out just one man so that if anyone was watching at that time that they would not feel threatened. He reported back that there was no signs of any disturbances at the locations we would consider prime surveillance locations."

"That could just mean that they had not arrived here yet," he said more to himself.

"And now with your arrival, I was not planning on any more patrols. If they are out there, I felt it would be better if they felt we were sloppy or overconfident as the base is just being readied."

Marcus nodded his approval at the idea.

"And all of you understand the mission parameters?" he looked around the table at the assembled men. He used his computer to pull her picture up to the screen at the end of the room. It was from just a few weeks before she had been taken to the Raft, her ginger hair highly unkempt, but it showed close to her current age. "Teagan is to be taken into custody unharmed, or as much as possible if she puts up a fight. With her powers, every member must take special precautions to prevent her from using her powers to take over your mind. She could order you to kill your own teammates with a single unstoppable command."

"I've made sure that every member of my team has thoroughly read the report on her and the powers she possesses," Hawkins told him. "The detainment equipment and suits we need to deal with her have already been distributed. When the times comes, she'll not be able to stop us."

He nodded his approval again.

"As for the secondary target, Falcon, alive is necessary...undamaged is not."

"My man has been training on the net stun-gun for a few weeks now. I'm confident that he'll have no problem taken him down from the sky."

They spent the remainder of the meeting going over the final details of the Strike Team using the escape tunnel to locate Teagan. Marcus was sure that they would not bring her into the base with them, instead deciding she would be safer located at the Quinjet they had been spotted using last year. That was what they had done on the mission with the bomb. Only bringing her inside once it was considered necessary to retrieve the disarming code.

There had been limited spots in the surrounding woods where they could have landed it and he'd had the foresight to have the initial preparation team cover the areas with debris as to make them unsuitable. That would leave them with at least one perfect landing spot closer to the base. He hoped they would not choose one of the further ones, but that would mean they would not be able to guard Teagan during their assault.

Now, it was just a matter of waiting.

* * *

**Clint's Safe House - The Next Day**

"I would still prefer for you to stay here," Sam told her as she changed into the all black outfit that had been selected for her to wear. Even if she was not supposed to get out of the Quinjet, she was dressing to be able to blend in and hide if necessary.

Shaking her head, "No. I need to see him taken down."

Teagan knew that Sam was just worried for her, about what might happen once they brought Keeling bound before her. It was not like she would lose her mind or anything. She just needed to see him that final time with their roles finally reversed, just like she had been wanting for over the past decade.

"Just promise me that you'll stay on the Quinjet, no matter what," Sam's arms slid around her bare waist as his lips found her neck tattoo, a favorite spot for him to kiss.

"I doubt there is anything that would get me to leave the safety of it," she pointed out.

"Good," he told her with a final kiss to her neck before he headed over to the chair in the corner of their bedroom where his uniform had been patiently waiting for the past few days.

"How long is the flight to get there?" she asked continuing to dress.

"About fifteen minutes," he told her. "But we may have a wait once arriving until we give the base a final good scouting. We'll not move in until we are sure."

"I can wait," she told him. "As long as he's eventually taken down, I'll wait days just to make sure."

"Just don't let it get to you," he told her. "If you start to worry or panic, I need you to tell me immediately. Don't worry about what the others think either. They know how badly he hurt you and how much this mission means. They're here for you."

That made her pause just as she sat on the bed to put on her shoes.

"If you had never met me, and you found out about this base becoming used, would you all have gone after it?"

"Of course," Sam told her without a doubt. "It's still Hydra. They need to be stopped at all costs."

That made her feel a bit better, knowing that stopping Hydra in general meant so much to them.

Standing dressed and ready, she watched Sam as he finished with his own uniform. But as she did so, a feeling of dread started to wash over her.

For the first time in so long, she would be so close to Keeling.

She had already pumped herself up so that she would not be afraid, but as time for them to leave drew steadily closer, that bit of bravery was starting to slip.

No, she told herself. Capturing Keeling was their job, not hers. All she had to do was sit there and watch. The next time she was in arms reach of him, he would be bound on his knees before her. There was no reason for her to be afraid of him anymore.

"Ready?" Sam asked as she was pulled back to the moment.

"Yes," she told him taking a calming breath. "Let's go."

* * *

**On The Quinjet - Close to Hydra Base**

Watching the monitor with Nat's security feed of the base, Sam saw a handful of Hydra goons moving around the large garage and storage area trying to look busy. They seemed to have been tasked with menial jobs that they didn't care to be doing. One was sweeping the extensive floor while another was up on a tall ladder changing out light bulbs hanging up in the rafters. There were even two off to the side checking their phones and laughing at something.

He had to chuckle a bit at that, hoping that Hydra didn't pay by the hour.

"Any sign of Keeling?" Steve asked from over his shoulder.

"About twenty minutes ago he came out and looked to be barking orders at everyone," he told him. "He headed back inside through the second door on the left side."

"Then unless we see him before moving in, that's where I'll head," Steve told him.

"Still want me in the air to handle the guys already outside?"

There were a few guys working on cleaning up the overgrown plants between the landing platform and fence.

"Yes," he said. "Nat and I'll push through them and deal with any still inside or protecting Keeling. See if you can draw them out into the open. Once the area is clear, you can join us inside."

"That shouldn't be a problem. They look so bored that I'm sure they'd love a distraction," Sam joked.

"We're here," Nat called out from the pilot's seat.

They had come in high and slow, giving her a chance to find the open area they had spotted earlier that would allow them to land the Quinjet close to the base. It wasn't far away from the landing pad, still being inside of the fence enclosing a chunk of the forest area. With the jet in stealth, nobody at the base would be able to spot it, but peering through the tree cover, Teagan would be able to partially see the base.

"Everybody geared up?" Steve asked looking around.

"Ready," Nat replied as she got up from the seat, moving to the ramp's controls.

Sam turned to Teagan who had been sitting over on the bench across from him. She had made the comment earlier about staying out of their way but he could tell how nervous she was.

Walking over to her, he placed his hands on her shoulders, making her turn to look at him.

"Just stay here and we'll be back in a little while."

"Be careful," she said but then looked over at Steve and Nat. "All of you."

"We will," Steve told her as he stood with his hand on the ramp's control. "Shut this behind us."

Teagan stood up, following him over to the ramp.

"I've already set the console up to show my visor's scans," he told her.

Teagan then leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on his lips, not caring about the others being there.

"Don't take any chances," she told him. "You don't have to show off for me today."

"He'll behave," Nat told her as Steve lowered the ramp.

"See you soon," he told her, running a finger across her chin, giving him a smile he hoped conveyed his confidence of this mission going smoothly.

* * *

**On The Quinjet**

" _One guard down_ ," Natasha's voice came in over the comm system.

She was to take out anyone standing between her and Steve getting inside of the base.

" _Two down_ ," Steve then commented.

" _Sam, we're at the opening. You can take off now_ ," Nat stated as she watched the screen showing Sam's point of view. A second later, she saw that he took off heading straight up through the opening of tree limbs that he had found.

" _On the move_ ," he told everyone.

Teagan watched as he came in for a diving punch on a guy holding a shovel, taking him completely by surprise. When Sam turned to look at the next guy, she could see that he was trying to figure out what was going on as he was being moved in on.

For the next minute, she watched Sam take out the handful of guards working outside, trying to knock them out either with his fists or the gun that Natasha had given him with specialized bullets that contained some kind of special sleeping agent bullets.

Over the earcom, she was able to listen to Steve and Natasha moving through into the base dealing with their own guys. Their plan was for Sam to take out the guys inside the hanger area so they didn't leave their back exposed before moving further into the base to look for Keeling.

They had mentioned the possibility that he might even appear, hoping to find out what was going on.

" _Steve, on your six_ ," Natasha's voice called out moments before the sound of gunfire started. It seemed they had found some resistance.

The comm system was a mixture of punching sounds, grunts, gunfire, and splintering wood for the next few minutes. But nobody even mentioned a sighting of Keeling, so she could only hope that he had trapped himself inside with the hopes of his men being able to handle

* * *

**Interior of Hydra Base**

Marcus' office door slammed open, startling him to the point where he jumped slightly at the intrusion.

"Sir, the base is under attack!"

This was it!

Standing, he hurriedly walked into the next room where the security feeds had been set up. He had not wanted them far from him. He could already feel his blood starting to pump, knowing that it was now time to put his plan into motion.

"Did they land in the nearby clearing we suspected they would use?" he eagerly asked.

"Ground motions sensors were activated. I've already deployed the Strike Team. They are heading out to the possible location of the jet. They are already through the escape tunnel and out on the far side of the mountain," the Harper informed him with a knowing grin. "We should be hearing from them shortly as to confirmation on the initial target."

Harper then moved over to sit at his own set of monitors to view the body camera of his team displayed on them.

"How far have the intruders gotten?" he asked the two agents in charge of monitoring.

"They just made it into the hanger area. Two of them. There is a third outside, and it looks like it's the Falcon."

He couldn't help the smirk that formed on his lips.

"Make sure they are deep enough inside before setting off the charges," he instructed. "I don't want to take the chance of them running out. Are all the interior hanger doors secured?"

"Yes, Sir. I threw the switch the moment we had confirmation on the attack. They'll not be able to leave the hanger by getting into the base."

Marcus watched on the screen as Captain America and Black Widow fought with the unsuspecting work crew selected to be here for the raid. Even with the low numbers of Hydra members, there were quite a few that were less than fighting proficient. He had made sure that they were the ones that formed the remodeling crew for the base.

They were either lazy or incompetent, meaning they were useless and expendable.

"Sir, they are almost to the closest base door," he was told. "I would suggest not waiting too much longer, otherwise they might grow suspicious with the interior doors being locked."

"Then go ahead and set off the charges. They should be at a point that doesn't give them enough distance to be able to retreat."

"Initiating countdown…three, two, one…"

* * *

**Hydra Base's Open Hanger Area**

"Is it just me or are these guys a pushover?" Nat called out to Steve as they watched two of the Hydra men actually turn and run away towards the open hanger door. Steve was half way across the hanger from her, taking down another worker. Two were already downed at her feet unconscious.

"They're not actual combatants, like some others," Steve told her, his punch knocking the guy out. "Just the lowest members without any training, sent here to work."

That was when they heard the sudden deafening sound of a nearby explosion as the ground under them began to shake violently.

"Steve?" she called out, worried at what was going on.

Turning around towards the hanger opening far behind them, she watched as a cascade of dirt and smaller rocks began to pour like water from off of the mountain to the landing area that had just been swept by another guy not long ago. Then the smaller rocks quickly became large boulders that impacted on the concrete, some shattering, others not.

That was when she saw two Hydra goons who were running in the direction of an interior door, hoping to reach cover deeper in the base. But the door that they reached would not open for them, for some reason it was locked down. Making a hasty decision, the goons then began to run towards the hanger opening which was a cascade of boulders.

Nat knew that trying to leave the way they had just come in would be suicide right now, but they didn't seem to understand that. As they reached the opening, she could only watch as the two of them were crushed underneath the stones that were starting to collect there. They wouldn't be getting up ever again.

That was when more explosions rocked the two of them again, and these were located close to the opening but inside of the hanger area. The arching support ceiling beams were being separated from the wall.

The ceiling began to collapse, allowing the already tumbling rocks to begin to pour further into the hanger area.

Knowing heading the doors were useless, Nat turned and began to run towards the furthest point away from the crushing rocks, seeing a blur not far away doing the same. Steve was moving towards her, gaining quickly, but she still had nowhere to go.

"Nat! The pillar!" Steve called out to her, pointing in the direction he wanted her to move.

She made a straight line for the vertical support pillar of the roof that was comprised of concrete and a steel I-beam that ran from floor to ceiling. Due to the shape, it had a small jutting area that would block off some of the debris that was starting to sweep in towards them.

Reaching the wall, she felt smaller chunks of the ceiling impacting on her back as she tried to find cover. Then the bruising items stopped raining down onto her as Steve covered her body with his own as he pushed them into the small corner. His body formed the exposed part of the triangle as he blocked her from being crushed, absorbing the terrible amount of damage himself.

"Steve!" she could see the grimace on his face, the grinding of his teeth, as he just stood there blocking her from getting injured.

"Damn I miss my shield sometimes," he told her as the debris around their feet began to climb higher up their legs.

Nat wrapped her arms around Steve's head as they were slowly buried alive under the crushing materials that formed the base's ceiling.

* * *

**Outside - Moments Earlier**

Sam was diving in on the last standing worker when he heard the sound of an explosion moments before the shock-wave of it pushed him sideways. Small chunks of debris rained over him and he narrowly avoided larger pieces of trees and rocks flying through the air away from the mountain. The man he had been aiming for was struck in his side by a splintered limb, knocking him to the ground bleeding.

Spinning around, he saw the flames and smoke higher up the mountain's side moments before dirt and debris began to slide down towards the ground.

Dropping closer to the ground, he was able to see Steve and Nat looking out towards him through the raining material. Two men who had been running towards the outside were violently stopped in their tracks and quickly buried over.

More explosions happened, and it took him a moment to figure out that these ones were located inside of the hanger area. Nat began to run away from the opening, Steve turning and quickly sprinting over towards her.

"Steve! Nat!" he called out on the earcom, but he didn't get any response. The rumbling sound of the avalanche that was sloshing off the mountain was louder than standing next to a freight train roaring passing. There was no way the two of them would hear their response if they even could.

The last he saw of his friends were them cowering in a corner as the ceiling crushed down onto them.

* * *

**Inside the Quinjet**

Teagan sat in the chair with her mouth gaping open as she watched through Sam's video feed the devastating scene of Steve and Natasha dying inside of the Hydra base. There was no way anyone could survive a mountain dropping on top of them. Not even Captain America.

With her face buried in her hands, tears began to stream down her cheeks as she heard Sam yelling for their friends, but receiving no response.

That was when something slammed into the side of the Quinjet, rocking it so violently that she was knocked sideways out of the seat. Looking up from her spot on the floor, she saw all of the electronics as they began to spark and blink, as if trying to decide whether to stay on or not. Glancing out of the pilot's window, she saw smoke and the hint of flames.

The Quinjet was on fire!

Jumping back up into the seat, she scanned the console for the right button.

"Sam! Help!" she yelled out while holding the open-com button. With the console buzzing with sparks, she had no idea of he could hear her. The scene from his visor still showing him looking towards where Steve and Natasha last were, so she didn't think it was working properly.

A red light started to flashing inside the jet, along with a jarring claxon sound indicating something was very wrong. It had to be the jet's fire alarm warning her of the danger.

"Sam! Can you hear me?" she tried the console again. This time, the video showed Sam looking her way and Teagan was able to see the outside of the Quinjet.

There was fire and smoke blocking a good portion of the view but she did manage to see black shapes moving around the distant perimeter. Hydra was moving in on the jet. Static buzzing came over the internal comms, which she guessed was Sam trying to tell her something, but not a single word he said was clear.

The only thing she was sure of was that if she stayed inside of here, that those black shapes would eventually have her surrounded…if the fire didn't get to her first.

Making a quick decision, Teagan grabbed Sam's black coat to cover up with, hoping it gave her some cover for hiding in the forest. Tossing it on while moving to the back of the jet, she slammed her fist onto the ramp's control button to open it.

Nothing happened.

Pressing it like an impatient elevator call button, after a dozen tries the power finally stopped flickering long enough for the ramp to start lowering. Giving a sigh of relief, Teagan darted away from the jet the moment there was enough room to get out.

The sounds of the avalanche were still going, but much quieter than she would have suspected. After only a few feet, she dared to glance over towards the base. The larger initial down pouring of rocks had considerably slowed and were blocking off the entire door opening into the hanger. If someone had not seen it before, they would never know it had been there to begin with.

Reaching the overgrown car path, Teagan tried to figure out which way to go, along the path which was faster but left her open, or into the woods which was slower and provided cover. There had not been any plan as to where to meet up in case something like this happened, so she had to only guess what Sam would want her to do.

Thinking of him, Teagan wondered if he was coming for her. If she stayed on the car path, he could easily grab a hold of her and fly the two of them out of here.

Pausing to look at where he had been on the other side of the landing pad, Teagan could make him out near the top of the trees. He seemed to still be focusing on the base, not realizing that she had even left the jet. He must not have seen her running away.

Hearing movement approaching from the woods behind her, Teagan decided to run down the open path to put some distance between her and the Hydra agents that were approaching.

That was when she heard the sound of gunfire.

Glancing over her shoulder, she watched tracer rounds going from the ground towards where she saw Sam dodging and weaving in the sky. Suddenly, there was a single strange loud bang as the air resonated with a buzzing sound. A glowing projectile large enough for her to see was heading right for Sam.

Teagan stopped running away and screamed out, "Sam!"

A second later, she watched as his entire body was lit up inside some kind of electrical field. His upward momentum was then halted as his wings folded up back inside of his pack, leaving Sam to instantly begin a free-fall. His body disappeared behind the tree-line not far from where the curving road took her.

Changing her direction entirely so that she could dart up the dirt road towards where Sam would land, Teagan heard the crunching sound of him impacting hard onto the concrete of the landing pad. There was no way he could have fallen from that height and survived.

Teagan pushed her body with every ounce of strength she had to make it up the path as quickly as she could. She had to get to him, she had to see if he was alright.

Passing by a break in the trees, it allowed her a glimpse of his non-moving form lying sprawled out on the ground. She skidded to a stop.

"Sam!" she screamed out, hoping to he would turn his head to look at her.

He didn't.

Sam was dead.

A piercing sting on the side of her back had Teagan reaching around to see what had bitten her.

Feeling a foreign object, her hand pulled out a small syringe-type dart that was empty. Dropping it to the ground, she looked back over at Sam's body, willing him to stand up.

But he didn't.

Black covered moving beings entered her sight from all directions, numerous guns aimed at her from only a few feet away.

That was when her own legs gave out from under her. Falling to her knees as she lost feeling in her entire body, her mind began to swirl with dread at the realization as to what was currently happening.

Sam and all of her friends were dead and she was surrounded by Hydra. She tried to scream out, a mixture of fear and anger running through her, but her voice failed her.

Her last thought was that she didn't even have a gun to put to her own head.

Teagan barely registered the fact when she fell flat on her back as the darkness encompassed her consciousness.


	29. Sam Meets Keeling

**Hydra Jet**   
**Unknown Time Later**

It was the pulling and yanking on his body that managed to stir Sam only partially awake. If it had been his choice, he would have slept until the sharp stabbing pain in his head went away. With each slow beat of his heart, he could feel the blood pounding in his skull. But that was all that he could feel.

Sam knew that his body was lying prone on a surface, but there was no actual feeling in any of his limbs. For some reason they were all numb or incapacitated somehow. But that didn't seem to matter to the nausea that he _was_ able to feel.

How had he gotten here? In fact, where was here?

The last thing he remembered was turning to fly back towards the Quinjet which had taken some kind of possible missile strike.

His left arm was then lifted up by someone for a few moments before it was carelessly released to fall on whatever surface he was lying upon. All he knew was that it was hard, maybe metal. The coolness of the air on his arm told him that his gauntlet had been removed. As the same action was done to his other arm, Sam tried to pry open an eye to see who was stripping him of his uniform.

As soon as he did so, his visor was roughly stripped from his face. His head lifted partially off the flat surface, and when it dropped back down, the impact intensified the thumping pulse exploding in his skull. Another wave of nausea washed over him.

Through the stars in his vision, Sam could tell the room he was in was dark grey and there were multiple ghost figures moving all around the immediate area. None of them had faces, only black masks that covered every inch of their skin. They looked just like the ones that had been heading towards the Quinjet where Teagan was.

Teagan!

Above him, all of the figures matched, so none of them were her.

Listening to the different conversations, none of the voices were hers. Nobody was calling for help. Did that mean that Teagan was not here? Sam went to call out for her and found that just like his arms, his voice didn't want to work properly either.

What had happened to him? He had been high up in the air, trying to get past the treetops and back to the jet. How had they managed to take him down? He could almost remember something shooting quickly through the air and coming directly for him.

His blurry sight showed two figures close to him, hovering over his torso as he felt them begin to work on removing his chest armor and wings. Lifting his arms, which seemed much weaker than they should, he tried to swat away the enemy hands about to strip him of his defenses. All that did was make another dark shape kick his hand back to the floor where booted feet pinned his arms down.

Once they were done figuring out how to get his wings off, the feet released him and then kicked him onto his side then front. The move left his wings on the floor where he had been. They had managed to remove his best hope of getting out of here…wherever _here_ was.

"Get the cuffs on him then secure him into place!"

Sam knew that the voice meant _him_ so he tried to move his limbs to stop them but he was still too dazed to do so. The cold metal clamped around his wrists without any trouble from him. Then his body was dragged over the floor before being lifted to rest his back upon a wall while sitting on the floor. Someone grabbed a hold of the cuffs, lifting them over his head before he felt them being secured upwards. Why wouldn't his body respond properly?

The dark figures moved away but he was unable to pull his arms back down from over his head. Looking around, he could see more black figures further away huddled over something, blocking his view. Not that it mattered much since his eyes still saw nothing but blurry dark figures surrounded by bright stars. Blinking a couple of times, he began to feel a slight burning sensation, similar to having gotten chlorine pool water in his eyes.

"Are you done over there _yet_?"

"We're _working_ on it!"

"Well, hurry up! This one is _already_ awake!"

"The net's charge is meant to _incapacitate_ his body, _not_ keep him knocked out. The fall did that."

Net? Fall?

That's what helped him to remember the strange gun pointed at him with the missile he had tried to dodge. But instead of exploding, as he went to make his right turn to avoid being hit, the thing had burst open into a large webbed net that had a blue electrical charge all over it. When it had wrapped around his body and part of his wings, it had sent a shock into him and his suit. It had forced his wings to power down, causing him to fall out of the sky.

There had not been time to pull for his parachute, but he had managed to roll just enough so that just before crashing he was able to avoid landing on the concrete landing platform and hit the soft dirt ground. He must have been knocked unconscious upon impact. The shock net was the reason that his body was useless right now.

Taking a deep gasp of air, Sam tried to call out, "Teagan," but the most he accomplished was a whisper. But it was enough to get at least one of the form's attention.

Crouching down right next to him, he saw the black mask much better. There was not a speck of exposed skin and the eyes were covered with mirrored goggles.

"Looks like you have a nasty bump on your forehead. If you behave during the trip, the boss might consider letting someone take a look at that when we land at the base."

Land? That must mean they were in some kind of plane. Probably the very one that had brought Keeling to the base yesterday since it had been parked off to the side of the base's entrance. Where was he being taken?

"Where's Teagan?" he hated to ask.

There was no way that they were dressed like that unless they knew she would be with them at the base and what her powers were.

"Your girlfriend?" Sam could almost see the grin through the mask. Nodding his head to his side, "They're almost finished with getting ready to lock her down."

Turning to look in the direction the figure had indicated, there was now just enough space between the bodies to see what they had been working on. Rapidly he blinked his eyes, trying to clear up the strange image that was still blurry with stars staying on the outer fringes of his sight.

Lying on the metal floor, Sam finally caught his first glimpse of Teagan…and it made him want to scream.

She was totally unconscious, not putting up any sort of fight as the two agents finished removing the last of her clothing, leaving her only in a bra and panties. There were more agents, all in full black clothing, looking and pointing at her now exposed tattoos.

"Leave her alone," he tried to scream at them, but it barely carried to his own ears.

"We have to make sure she's prepped for the trip home," the agent next to him stated. "After all the trouble Hydra has gone through to get her back, we'd hate for her to leave us again any time soon."

Home?

Sam felt his blood run colder than it had in a long time.

Keeling! The new base!

This had all been a trap to get Teagan back!

The anger built up in his body as realization of what they had all walked into overwhelmed him. All of the worrying that he'd had about letting her go with them…he never should have doubted that nagging feeling that he'd had. They had been so arrogant that none of them had spotted the elaborate trap that Hydra had put into place. And they had all paid a heavy price consisting of blood and death…and ended up with the two of them captured.

Pulling hard at the cuffs holding him down, Sam finally managed to let out a scream of agony and anger that managed to echo in the enclosed metal structure. Everyone turned to look at him, even the two working on Teagan. That was when the laughing started.

They were laughing at him! They knew they had won!

"Teagan! Wake up! You have to stop them!"

"There's no point in yelling," he was told by the agent. "The stuff she was injected with will last at least an hour. They'll be done securing her well before then."

He fought until his wrists hurt and the nausea returned, all the while Teagan lay there unaware of what was being done to her.

One of the guards then rolled her onto her belly as another approached with a metal device in his hands. Even without having seen it before, Sam knew that this must be the arm binder that Keeling had kept her restrained in most of the time. He'd heard enough stories from her about it.

"Leave her alone, you assholes!" his voice was growing in strength, just like his body. But with every screamed word, he could feel it pounding throughout his head. The throbbing pain forced it's way forward, causing his right eye to slightly close from the pumping pressure.

"Why don't _you_ shut up before we _make_ you shut up?" one of the two yelled back at him.

Lying half of the item across her bare back, they began to fold her arms upwards, painfully twisting them so they fit into the half-pipe metal-formed W shape. They slipped her hands inside of the small enclosed area that stopped at her neck. The top metal piece was then laid on and an Allen wrench was used to secure down the screws to hold it together. There was no way that she would ever have been able to remove it on her own. No wonder she had never been able to escape. They then rolled her back over.

"We're ready!" the other of the two then called out over his shoulder.

That was when another figure began to approach Teagan from a dark area he had not previously noticed. A tapping sound accompanied the off-gait of the figure that came into view.

Marcus Keeling!

"Stay away from her, you bastard!"

He didn't even bother looking over at Sam, all of his attention focused on the bound form now at his feet. Crouching down, Keeling ran his bare hand over Teagan's cheek in a gentle motion, almost kind if Sam didn't know better. That was when he noticed the object being held along with the cane.

A black leather mask.

"You can't put that on her!" he screamed at the man while rattling his hands, making as much noise as he could to distract him Teagan.

Nausea hit Sam again as his body fought against the jerky movements he was trying to make it do. Considering the other troubling signs he had been ignoring, Sam was now almost sure that he had a concussion from when he impacted the ground.

Not getting any acknowledgement from Keeling, Sam did the only other thing he could…he kicked out at the agent closest to him. His booted foot barely managed to knock the back of his knee, but it at least made him unsteady enough so that he fell to the floor.

Sam then quickly reached out with both feet and managed to wrap his legs around the agent's neck, putting him into a choke-hold with his knee. The agent's hands weakly fought at trying to grasp his legs to free himself, making Sam only tighten his own grip.

"Leave her alone or he dies!"

That finally managed to get Keeling to look over at the situation.

"In case you haven't figured it out yet, this entire strike team was expendable as long as Teagan was recaptured," his voice was eerily calm as he spoke. "Kill him if you want. I would say that it would mean one less person for you to go through later on but neither of you are escaping from us…ever."

There was an arrogant surety in Keeling's comment, as if he could see into the future and know that the two of them were lost. Looking back at Teagan already bound, knowing what he probably intended for her, Sam couldn't stop as he let his anger take over his actions.

Squeezing his legs tightly around the throat, Sam gave a sharp yank and heard the resulting sound of a neck breaking that he expected.

"Well done," Keeling cruelly smiled at him. "I didn't think that you would have it in you. I was hoping that I wasn't wrong with my assessment that you had feelings for her. _That_ only proves it. It will help bring you under my control much more quickly."

Sam opened up his legs, the dead agent's body giving a thud on the metal as it impacted. Still needing to vent his anger, he kicked the lump for not being useful as hard as he could.

Keeling had already returned his attention to Teagan even as the other agents pulled the dead one away from him.

"I've missed you, tool" he could barely hear Keeling tell her.

Taking the strange hood in his hands, Keeling rolled the sides of it back so that the face of it lined up with Teagan's. Carefully he watched as the evil item was slid over her skin, Keeling happily about to trap her back inside of the dark that she feared so much.

And he was helpless to stop it from happening.

Keeling smoothed the fabric over her face, removing any wrinkles to form a perfect leather version of Teagan. Sam saw that the mouth area was still open, exposing her lips, but he knew that would change soon. Keeling would never allow her the ability to talk. The area surrounding her showing eyes had rivets that he could guess the use of.

"Roll her over," he simply instructed and the agent quickly moved to do his bidding.

Once she was again lying on her belly, Keeling began to draw up the cord running through the silver triangle hoops that ran from the top of her head to her neck. Even from this distance, Sam could hear the cracking, straining sound of the leather as it was viciously tightened down. Reaching the back of her neck, he formed a knot before tucking the remaining cord inside of a pocket under the neck collar, which was buckled closed. Sam almost screamed as a small padlock was looped through a ring on the buckle's prong, making it not removable.

Pulling something from a pocket of his cargo pants, Keeling proudly held the gag up for Sam to see. It made his stomach churn. The interior piece looked like the rubber mouth guard that sports players would use to protect their teeth. That was secured to a thick leather panel which had straps to hold it around her head.

Prying open Teagan's mouth using his thumb on her chin, Keeling roughly wedged the item inside, taking his time to insure that it was in place. Satisfied that it was, he buckled and also padlocked it at the back of her head. Now the only way for her to breathe was through the two small holes that lined up with her nostrils. Sam worried that if she started to panic, which he knew she would, that they may not be big enough. She could easily cause herself to pass out from lack of oxygen.

"Turn her back over."

There was a sickening sound of her metal arm cuff thudding on the jet's floor.

Sam pulled hard at his own cuffs again with the final item Keeling produced from his pants…a blindfold.

" _Please_ , don't do that to her," he finally begged for her. "You know she hates the dark. You've already contained her. You can't be that cruel. None of that stuff is necessary, only the gag."

Keeling actually paused as he was reaching over toward her head, turning with a dark glimmer in his eyes.

"But you see, I _want_ to do this to her. Besides, _this_ is only the beginning. You have _no idea_ how _cruel_ I am going to have to be to make her _obey_ me once again."

With that, Keeling placed the thick, padded blindfold over her eyes and began to snap down the grommets into place.

When he was done, Keeling looked over at someone who stepped forward with a long thin tube in his hand. A feeding tube, just like the one Teagan had when they freed her from the Raft. Without a word, the man began to work it through the breathing hole in the mask and fed it down inside of her. The long end was secured to her mask by a piece of medical tape to hold it in place.

If Keeling was putting that in, Sam knew that it meant he intended to keep Teagan locked away in that mask for some time. He recalled the horrific stories of how days or a week would go by as she was 'put on a shelf' until Hydra needed her again. But now, she was no longer the broken, obedient 'tool' that Keeling had created. She had been free from him. Her mind was stronger and she had begun to fight back her fear of her past. There was no way that she would easily give in this time to Keeling.

And that worried him as to what Keeling would do to revert her back to the way she had been previously under his control.

Sam closed his eyes, his head pounding as he gritted his teeth in anger at himself for ever letting her come with them to the base. He should have insisted to Steve and Nat that she stay back at the safe house in Chicago. They could have called Clint or Wanda to come and stay with her so that she wouldn't have been alone. Hell, they should have called in both of them to join them on the base raid. Or called in Shield…hell, even Tony would have joined them if they'd only asked!

Hearing a scraping sound, Sam opened his eyes back up to see what was going on now. That was when he saw that a rectangle item an agent had been sitting on was being pulled closer to Teagan. It wasn't until they lifted the clear lid that Sam understood that it was a box to put her in.

"You'll kill her!"

Keeling stood over her as three agents lifted her limp form off of the floor and placed her inside the narrow item. Closing the lid, Keeling walked over and flipped a bracket down over a ring before closing a larger padlock through it.

"We wouldn't go through all of this trouble just to kill her now. There are air holes lining the sides to let in oxygen," Keeling pointed out. "So, now we wait. There's almost a two hour flight back to our home base. Teagan should wake up at about the half way point, wondering where she is, what happened to her, _and_ believing you are _dead_."

"What?" Sam felt his body chill over at hearing that.

"You didn't know?" Keeling asked coming to stand just out of reach of his feet. "When she was running away, Teagan turned around and watched as you were shot out of the sky with the net. But she didn't seem to understand what it was. All she saw was your body starting to fall out of the sky, disappearing behind the trees, before crashing to the ground unconscious. She stopped running away and screamed for you, thinking you were dead. It was thanks to her compassion towards you that we were able to shoot her with the tranquilizer."

"Bastard!" Sam tried to kick out at him, not even getting close and only making himself nauseous again with the sudden movement.

"Take the rest of the flight to appreciate the position you now find yourself in. You are not only Hydra's prisoner, but so is Teagan once again. If you do not cooperate with us, I can easily punish _her_ for _your_ disobedience…and she'll never know why. Right now, to her, you are dead. And with all the explosions at the base, there is a good chance that so are Captain America and Black Widow. That means that there is no chance of a rescue from your friends since if you had known the location of our true base, you would have struck there at some point over the past two years."

Sam scowled as he listened to the bastard who was glaring down at him with smugness written all over his face. This entire time, he had not once thought about what might have happened to Steve and Nat. He had seen the explosion that had set off the avalanche which had covered the hanger doors. They had been running towards the back wall of the hanger, away from the debris. Even if they had somehow survived, the plans that Nat had found for the location showed no other way in, the fear of nuclear fallout keeping secondary entrances from being created.

Had they really been buried alive as it had looked like from where he had been in the air? Were his friends now dead or buried alive under tons of rock? There was nobody else who would even come looking for them. Would Clint do something if he didn't hear from Nat for too long? Had he even known that they were moving in on the base? Sam didn't think that he had.

Lifting his cane to gesture to him, letting him see that the pommel was a silver Hydra symbol, "I _think_ you _just_ figured it out," Keeling taunted as he turned to walk back to where he had first appeared from.

The other guards then began to loiter around the cargo area they were in. He paid particular attention to the plastic box that his wings and other items were placed inside of, another padlock securing them. None of them paid any type of attention to the box in which Teagan was sleeping away the flight in.

He wondered if the shots she had so long ago in Wakanda would keep her arms from being damaged again. They had laid her on her back, with her arms secured underneath of her. That also had to be a painful position for her back. Once she woke, Teagan would automatically know who had her thanks to the arm device.

It didn't take long for his own arms still suspended above his head to start to lose some sensations in them and forming a pins-and-needles feeling. Flexing his hands didn't help so Sam pulled his legs under him and moved into a kneeling position to try and get the blood flowing back down to them. A wave of nausea swept over him, making Sam reconsider the position.

After a few minutes, it seemed to help but now his knees began to hurt from being pressed into the metal floor. They had managed to put into a position where it was impossible to get comfortable…on purpose?

"Could I at least have something to sit on?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Shut up," was the only response he received.

He was not sure how long passed as he began to go from sitting to kneeling to standing multiple times, trying to get comfortable somehow. During the short times he stood, his cuffs made him slightly hunched over, still not a good position to hold for very long. The pounding in his head was joined with nausea after only a few short minutes.

Then he heard the new noise for the first time. Was that a thump?

Looking around, none of the others nearby seemed to give any indication that they had heard it too. Turning his head, Sam tried to focus in on the location it was coming from, but it was silent again. Long moments passed before he heard it again, this time it was loud enough to catch the agents' attention. Standing back up, Sam looked over at the box with Teagan in it along with the others.

"She's awake," one of them chuckled, standing next to the box to look through the clear lid.

Sam then heard the thumping sounds become louder and more frequent. Catching a hint of movement from inside, he saw that she was struggling. Inside the small box, Teagan was able to lift her legs to give a slight kicking motion to the top and sides. It would only take her a few strikes to figure out what type of item she was locked inside of.

"Teagan! I'm here! It's me, Sam!"

There was no indication from the bound form in the box that she had heard even a muffled voice as she continued to roll side to side and kick her feet at the surrounding container. He could barely see her head shaking back and forth, trying to dislodge the items keeping her in the dark. Even with the gag, Sam could hear her panicked screams, over and over, growing ever louder. The sound sent a sharp stab right into his chest, knowing that he couldn't help her in any way.

Refusing to give in so easily, he pulled at the cuffs, and this time he finally ended up straining so hard against them that they cut into his skin, blood starting to run down his hands.

The entire time, the Hydra goons watched her freaking out while laughing at her predicament. They had not an ounce of sympathy with what she was going through. To them, Teagan was nothing more than a show.

"That's why we needed the box," one of the guards told another. "Otherwise, she be flopping all around this place like a fish out of water."

"Teagan! Teagan!" he tried to get her attention, to give her some type of comfort, not matter how small it would be. He could tell that she was in the middle of a panic attack as she figured out what had happened to her. Hopefully just knowing that he was alive and nearby would be enough.

"Go and let him know she's awake…and _you_ , shut the _fuck_ up," one of the men said to him, as another ran in the direction Keeling had left in.

In no time, the two of them were back. Having something to occupy them for the first time during the flight since she'd gone inside the box, everyone present was intently watching her struggling form.

After hearing one particularly loud knock, Sam screamed at the top of his voice out to her again, "Teagan! I'm here!"

Keeling gave a loud sigh at his outburst, as if bored and tired.

"Some take care of that noise," Keeling stated while pointing his cane at him. "Double the dosage to compensate for the size difference. In fact, let's just keep him asleep until after we get to the base and have a chance to properly lock him down."

"Yes, sir," one of the agents pulled out his tranquilizer gun, aiming it at him.

"Teagan!" he managed to yell only one more time before two darts landed on his thigh, pumping the cold fluid into him.

Before he could utter another word, Sam collapsed to his knees hard as his muscles forgot how to support his body. As his body's weight was caught painfully by his secured bloody wrists, he was barely conscious enough to care since his last thought was of Teagan and what she must be going through.

* * *

**Moments Earlier**

There was not a single type of sound except for a steady, weak thumping that reminded her of a heartbeat. Listening to it for a few beats, Teagan began to wonder if it was her own. That would make sense since she was just waking up from her nap. But why was it so quiet in the bedroom?

_Nap? Bedroom?_

_No, that wasn't right._

Trying to stretch out her aching shoulders, she realized that she could not get a good sense of where her arms were, as if they were numb. Had she rolled over and pinned them under her as she slept? Trying to pull her arms out from underneath her, they weren't able to respond to her mind's commands.

_What was going on?_

Feeling a slight ache in her open jaw, she finally registered the intruder in her mouth. Running her tongue across the slick surface, she then bit down and found it to be made of a rubbery substance. Giving a muffled call of ' _hello'_ , not a syllable could be understood through the gag.

_A gag!_

Opening her eyes did not change the blank scene before her, it was still consumed of pure darkness. There was something pressing down on her eyes, irritating them so that she had to close her lids again to stop the pressure. Why couldn't she see? It wasn't just dark in here, wherever here was…she was blindfolded!

Teagan's mind became fully awake at that point, knowing that what was happening to her should not be. How did she get here? There was a gag in her mouth and a blindfold over her eyes! It had been so long since she's been trapped like this but the feeling of fear was easy to remember.

_Was she back inside one of her nightmares?_

Trying to force her body to take a deep breath, she could tell that inhaling through her nose had somehow also been slightly restricted, as if only a small amount of air was being let through. Was she suffocating? That was what made the tightening sensation start in her chest. Even though she knew that she was somehow barely getting air, her body was responding as if it was a load of rocks pressing into her ribs, constricting her breathing even more. Twitching her nose, she felt the old familiar presence of a tube.

_Oh, no! Please, no!_

Starting to struggle with her body, Teagan knew she had to figure out what was going on. It was as if her mind was refusing to let the truth of her situation come to her.

Where was she? _You know where!_

What had happened to her? _You know what!_

How was she supposed to wake up from this nightmare? _You can't!_

Puffing out her cheeks, she realized that there was a unfamiliar substance covering her skin. Rolling her head back and forth, she was just able to feel the pressure of material all around. Her head was encased in a hood of some kind.

Wearing a tight hood, a gag preventing her from talking, a feeding tube inserted, darkness all around her…

_There was only one reason for this type of restriction to her body._

_Keeling!_

Just thinking his name put her into full-on panic mode.

_No, no, no…this had to be a dream…a nightmare!_

_Something had happened._

_Something bad._

_Something petrifying._

Needing to get her arms free from under her, to escape from here, Teagan tried to force her limbs to move as much as they possibly could. For so long, she had been held in this position, her arms permanently pinned behind her back. Another wave of panic washed over her, her chest tightening even more as if crushed in a vice as she struggled to breath. She tried to calm down, knowing that something was not actually constricting her, that it only felt like it.

_She needed to find out where she was._

Searching outward with her feet, they stopped against surfaces not far away, one on each side. Lifting her legs, she barely was able to bend her knees, feeling them impact something hard not far above her. Pointing her feet down, there it was again. Rolling her entire body as much as she could, anything that would move touched something. Her mind conjured up the shape to explain where she was.

_A small coffin!_

Knowing that not only were her arms encased in her old arm restraint, but now understanding that she was locked inside of a coffin…Teagan let out the loudest scream that she could form.

Her breathing took on short, hard pants, trying to get as much air as she could. Thrashing her body in every direction possible, every part impacted with all the sides of the coffin. Lifting her head, it also thumped after only a few inches.

_She had to wake up…but she already was…_

Over and over for so long, Teagan screamed while rocking her body, hoping to somehow free herself from this confine. If only it had been ropes, she might be able to untie herself. To get out of here.

But then she knew better.

_If this was Keeling…if…_

_No._

_This was Keeling._

There was no doubt about it. Nobody else would go through this much torture just to subdue her. Not even Ross. But why hadn't the others stopped him from getting to her?

Steve…Natasha…the explosions!

They had been inside the base. The picture on the screen had shown her the bombs that went off, causing an avalanche that filled the entire hanger. They had been buried under the rocks. Then the picture had changed to be that of the outside of the jet she was in. Another explosion had gone off, this one aimed at where she was hiding. The fire and smoke…she had to leave the jet or be burned alive inside of it. She had to get to Sam, they had to get out of there.

That was when she remembered the last time she had seen Sam. She had been running away, trying to escape the men she saw pouring out of the wood in all black. Up in the air past the trees, Sam had barely been visible as he glided over the landing area. There had been an agent with a large gun, a fired missile heading for him. The strange electrical charge that had encompassed him. Sam had been electrocuted and fallen to the ground…dead.

Now she screamed again, this time even louder than when she discovered the coffin surrounding her.

Sam was dead!

There was a sharp stabbing pain in her chest as her mind replayed the scene of him falling towards the ground, disappearing behind the tall treetops. His crumpled body lying on the ground.

He was gone all because of Keeling wanting to capture her again. All of them were.

_This was more than a dream…it was a waking nightmare._

She had gotten them killed, all because she wanted to see Keeling taken down, and they had wanted to do it for her. To give her some type of peace of mind. To free her from his repulsive memory.

_Well, that had backfired in a major way._

Sam's death, just like Steve and Natasha's, was now on her hands, just as if she had pulled the trigger of a gun to his head. If she had only told them to not go after Keeling, all three of her friends would be alive right now.

Instead, they were dead and she was once again Keeling's prisoner.

She was already trapped back in the dark, she was secured down, she was locked away like a tool in a box.

Just like Keeling had always called her…and would still call her.

At that realization, Teagan began to laugh hysterically.

Her mind couldn't process the massive emotions running through her as she thought about everything that had happened and was about to. The loss, the guilt, the fear.

No more of the outside with blue sky. She would be returned to her dark, black cell.

No more freedom to go where she wanted to. She would be strung up just like she always was.

No more warm showers or baths. She would be hosed down.

No more soft beds with Sam lying next to her.

He was dead.

She was lost once again to the world.

There was no one out there to come after her.

She had been happy after so long!

And now Sam had been taken away from her forever!

_At least only she would now suffer at Keeling's hands…Sam was safe from Hydra…_

From this point forward, her life was back in the hands of a madman without a conscious. He would torture and abuse her again, this time probably worse than he had before. Keeling would be angry at her for escaping him, and he would take it out on her. He would find a way for her to work for him again…and it would be more painful than the first time.

She had to get out of here!

Sam would want her to get out of here! She had to be strong for him!

Kicking and screaming, her body impacted as hard as she could with the coffin, praying that someone would take pity on her and help her. But there was only silence in her ears. There was nobody even around to hear the screams, the begging, the pleading of being released.

Her breathing became more shallow as her body expended as much energy as it could, trying to escape the box she found would not give an inch, no matter what she did to it. It seemed even smaller than it had the last time she had lashed out at it. There was no way out! Nothing but solid walls trapping her in the confined area.

Did that mean that there was no way for air to get in?

Now a new panic started up.

Teagan recalled the last time she had been forced into a box as they escaped the Tesseract explosion years ago. The air in the cramped box had been used up and she had passed out. She had been at the verge of death before Keeling unfortunately brought her back. Was this box just like that one? Was that why it was so hard to breathe?

Feeling her body begin to shudder, Teagan let the terror of claustrophobia and suffocation wash over her. There was no more air, her lungs…the pressure on them was too much…it was crushing her!

The last thing she thought of before passing out, maybe hopefully dying, was Sam.

Hopefully he could forgive her for getting him killed.


	30. Welcome Home

**Colorado Hydra Base**   
**A While After The Attack**

Natasha's first conscious breath was formed from a dust-filled gasp for air. There was slight pressure over every part of her body, and after a few moments of consideration, she realized that none of it was painful. Slowly moving her hands, she was eventually able to rub them over her face, brushing away a heavy layer of dust and debris. Wiping her eyes first, she then risked opening them to see the actual circumstance she was currently in.

Her body was still wedged up against the solid metal support beam and wall where she had been heading. Now she stood there mostly from the debris surrounding her, trapping her in place. Her body was slightly crumbled, her legs bent as her arms had been wrapped protectively around her chest. Her face was in the corner formed by the beam and wall, giving a hollow space for her to breathe in.

Lifting her head, she could make out an open area a few feet above her past the objects that crossed over her which were keeping chunks of the ceiling from falling in on her. There was only a faint glow of light from up there, meaning either the lighting in the hanger was still on or it was now daylight outside. With the soreness that had already set in, Nat was sure she had been unconscious for an hour or more.

"Nat? Are you awake?" Steve's voice was weak and coming from somewhere very close.

Following the sound, Nat finally was able to focus on the faint outline of a body right next to her but covered in shadow.

"Steve?" she had to make sure she had actually heard him.

"Who else would you be expecting?" he tried to sound chipper. "Are you hurt?"

Trying to stretch out her body so that she was a bit straighter, she still did not feel anything that would indicate a major injury.

"I think I'm fine, just wedged in here enough to bring out some claustrophobia," she joked back, trying to make light of the horrible situation.

"That's good, because I'm going to need you to figure out how to get out of there," Steve told her. "Can you slowly try to stand up?"

Over the next minute that it took her to finally get upright, Nat had to push away the pieces that were wedging her into the confined space. With every move, more of the rubble tried crush down around her, threatening to bury her even more. But eventually, she was able to almost match Steve's straightened height. She was then able to make out that Steve's back was to her, blocking her view past him due to his strange outstretched stance. That was when she realized that the beams that were holding back the ceiling pieces were his arms. There was no way that he was comfortable holding that position, but to keep them both alive, he had.

Moving slightly to see his face, she saw small gashes over his hairline with dried streaks of blood that had started to drip down it before his healing factor had kicked in to seal the small wounds. But debris was leaning across his chest area, blocking her from seeing any other injuries.

"Steve, how badly are you hurt?" she asked, dreading his answer.

"I'm fine for now," he cryptically told her. "You are going to have to crawl straight up. It's the only way out. There's no other option."

Looking to the side, she could make out hole openings on the I-beam that would allow wiring and duct work to run through them.

"We can use those holes to climb out of here," she told him.

"Nat, I need you to listen," Steve's voice took on that serious mission-tone that left no room for argument. "When I start to move my arms, everything above us is going to shift. The only place for it to go is down. You'll need to watch out for anything falling as you climb."

Nat's furrowed her brows as she gathered his meaning. Steve believed that he could get her out but that it was going to cost him his life. He had been physically holding up the 'ceiling' over her head until she had finally woken up.

"I'm not getting out of here without you, and if you think that I would, it makes you a bigger idiot than I thought you were," she pointed out with a smile she knew he couldn't actually see.

"You're too nice to think that I'm an idiot," he joked with her.

"Nobody's ever accused me of being nice," she was glancing around the small area, examining it a lot more thoroughly now. "And if you actually think I would leave you here to die, then yes, you are an idiot."

She heard a resounding sigh from him as he told himself that she was serious with her statement.

"Besides, between staying here or facing Bucky if something happened to you, take a guess as to which I'd prefer," she told him, making him sigh heavily.

"Fine, then we're going to have to take this much slow than I had planned."

Over the next hour or so, Nat would move small pieces of debris with her hands, dropping them to the ground so that they could then step on top of them. Using her feet, she was able to wedge pieces as replacement parts for Steve's legs, letting him move for the first time after so long. A few inches here, a foot or two there, they slowly climbed up the beam out of the hole. Close to the top, a larger chunk of concrete dislodged and grazed Steve's leg on the way down.

"Are you alright?" she asked from her spot on the I-beam only a few feet above him.

"It's not as bad as it would have been if I'd still been down there," he told her.

"See, that just proves that you should always listen to me," she teased moments before the realization of what she had just said hit her.

_The only reason that they were in this mess was because of the information that she had gathered on Keeling._

And it, apparently, had all been a trap.

Steve must have seen her expression drop since he informed her, "Nat, whatever you're thinking, stop. This mission was my call, not yours. You gathered the information but it was eventually _my_ decision as to whether or not to go after Keeling."

"Steve…" she tried to continue but was cut off.

"How about we get the hell out of here _then_ we can play the blame game?"

Looking down at his weary face, Nat couldn't help but tell him, "What a potty mouth…"

"Get going," he grinned up at her.

After finally reaching the top of the pile of rubble, they found a small crawl space between the remainder of the ceiling and the top of the pile. It took over another hour for them to carefully crawl towards where the only light was coming from. They had both agreed that none of it was coming from where the hanger doors had been located. That meant that either it was nighttime or the opening was fully covered over.

Deciding to not take the chance since the pile under them was unstable in places, they stayed close to the wall and headed for where the door Keeling used during their surveillance should be. Luckily, as they grew closer to it, the pile began to dwindle in size, giving them more headroom to move about in. By the time they reached the area, they found that half of the door was uncovered. The debris had smashed it open, pushing the twisted metal into the hallway and allowing some of it to spill inside.

Both of them collapsed onto the sturdy ground, glad to be out of the destroyed hanger area. Climbing over and under the mess inside of it had been like navigating a dangerous playground. Her muscles were burning from the strenuous activity. Even Steve seemed to have been worn out if his heavy breathing was any indication.

Glancing over his body for any other injuries, Nat saw that not only was his uniform in a major need of cleaning, there were minor rips strewn about all over. But the main draw was the normally bright white star in the center of his chest which was partially ripped off.

Seeing her taking an interest in something, Steve looked down and spotted the hanging material. Taking a hold of the star, it only took a single ripping motion for it to be removed from him.

"Another uniform bites the dust," he commented, running his gloved fingers of the dirty star in his hand. Shoving it into his pocket, he scanned down the hall before looking over at her, "Ready to get moving?"

They'd had a few minutes to recoup and Nat knew they had to at least check out what was still left of the base. Since they had sat down, there had been no sounds to indicate that they were not alone.

"At least we know that Keeling is either still in here, or there's another exit somewhere," Steve told her as they both stood up.

"My plans didn't show any other exterior exits," she hated to point out.

"I highly doubt that Keeling allowed himself to be trapped down in here. And we never saw him leave through the hanger. He had _some_ form of escape planned, trust me."

"That doesn't mean that we'll actually find it," she told him.

The lights were still on so they figured that the explosions had been limited to the exterior of the base. As they carefully made their way through the base, there was no sign of anyone else.

Finding a large mechanical room not far from the hanger, they saw the base had a recycling air-filtration system so that no exterior airways were necessary. And with the generator still working it also meant that the air handler was still providing air to the underground base. They may be buried in here for now, but they would not die of asphyxiation.

At least not until the generator ran out of fuel. She might have to check on that sooner rather than later.

They made a quick run-through of the two levels looking for any immediate signs of people or a way out. There was not another soul in the base except for them. They paused briefly in the small medical area just long enough to bandage up Steve's cut thigh until his healing factor managed to take care of it.

As for the escape route that Steve was sure existed, rounding a corner made Nat glad that she had not made a bet with him.

"What do you think?" she asked as Steve glared at the debris-filled doorway. Whatever this location was, it was the only other disturbed part of the entire base except for the hanger. For some reason, the entirety of it was filled with chunks of concrete and rock. A thin layer of dust covered the immediate floor, and not a single footprint was visible in it, telling her it had happened recently. They couldn't tell if it was a room or a hallway since the rubble filled the entirety of the space.

"It's at least suspicious," he told her. "Stand back."

Nat moved down the hallway a couple of extra steps not sure what Steve was going to attempt. Taking hold of a larger concrete piece, he pulled on it until it finally dislodged. Smaller pieces began to fall from higher up to take up the open space but quickly stopped.

Steve went back over to the opening and studied what had happened.

"I think that this was an escape tunnel that went upwards and they blew it once everyone was out," he told her.

"I don't think that it's going to be very useful to us though," Nat pointed out.

"Not like this it won't," he said pulling out a fist sized rock and tossing it over his shoulder. "But we are far enough around the side of the mountain that the area above would not have been effected by the hanger avalanche. Keeling wouldn't have been able to get out otherwise. I think that with some time and hard work that I could have this cleared for us to get through."

"How long are you thinking?" knowing it was not going to be good.

"Depending on how high it goes…a couple of days at least. Maybe even a week."

Nat felt her entire body slump at that.

"Are you sure the hanger isn't a better option?"

Steve shook his head.

"No. Once I start to move anything from there, it will just be covered over by whatever is still up on the mountain sitting above it. It's too much of a risk. At least here, I can pull stuff out piece by piece, dropping them down so that the tunnel clears from top to bottom."

Nat looked between Steve and the rocks, hating that he was right and that this was their only option. She had found that their communication equipment was useless inside the base, being blocked by the thick granite mountain above them. And even if they managed to call out for help, there was a good chance that whomever heard their signal was not going to be on their side.

She could already hear the taunts from Tony at getting themselves into this situation, right before he led them to the authorities waiting to take them into custody.

Neither one had spoken about the sensitive subject that she knew haunted both their thoughts…Sam and Teagan.

Sam had been outside in the air at the time of the explosions, which meant that he should have been safe from get caught in them. And Teagan should have still be safe inside of the Quinjet. Just as their comms were fading out, Nat thought she heard Sam's voice calling out to them, but between running for her life and the deafening sounds of crashes all around, she had not been able to answer.

Were the two of them still outside waiting for her and Steve to somehow get out? Somehow, a worst case scenario seemed more logical. That the two of them had to face off against Hydra all on their own. Had Steve already considered the same idea she had?

"Steve, what about Sam and Teagan?"

The super-soldier dropped his head and his body seemed to slump a bit, telling her he didn't have any good feelings about their friends' situation either.

"I think that this entire thing was a setup. That Keeling baited us to try and get to Teagan. All that we can do until we get out of here is hope that Sam was able to get to her and that they managed to escape whatever plan Keeling had in place."

She knew that with her raised questioning eyebrows that she didn't look like she agreed with him. Keeling had managed to out-think them by playing on their connection to Teagan and wanting to do right by her. Steve looked miserable, and it wasn't just from considering what their friends might be going through.

And she had led them right into this trap with her information.

"If only I had…"

"Nat, don't. It was my call, not yours. As for Sam and Teagan, we can't do anything from in here except hope for the best…that Sam managed to get to Teagan and they are already back at the safe house waiting for us. Let's just concentrate on getting out of here."

Nat didn't want him to take all of the blame, but hearing him say that again did help with the guilt that she was starting to feel. She could only hope that somehow Steve's highly unlikely wish had somehow come true.

"Fine, but first you are going to eat and then get a couple of hours rest in the dormitory that we found," she informed him. "I don't know how long you were standing there while I was out of it, but you need to get your strength back. We both do."

Steve glanced at the blocked doorway again and she knew he agreed with her. There was a lot of work to be done over the next few days, and she would only be able to help with a small portion of it.

"I hope that Keeling left plenty of food for us," he told her as they headed back down the hallway towards the kitchen area.

"I highly doubt he had his men clean out the pantry," she joked with him. "Let's go see how well Hydra feeds its people."

* * *

**Unknown Hydra Base**   
**Two Hours After Attack**

"Take him to medical and make sure they understand to keep him sedated," Marcus ordered as two guards dragged Falcon out of the jet onto the concrete floor before lying him on the medical stretcher. There was not a sign at all from him of being aware that he was even being moved. The drugs in his system should last a few more hours. "Tell them to keep him that way until I have a chance to get there."

"Yes, Sir," one of the guards told him as they entered one of the two waiting elevators. He smiled as the doors shut, sealing Falcon inside of his new home without him even knowing or being able to do anything about it.

Behind him, he heard numerous approaching footsteps before the sound of something heavy touching the ground. He took a deep breath to calm his enthusiasm at having his prized tool finally home.

Keeling glared down at the box containing Teagan as the guards placed it on the ground inside of his home base's hanger. He'd ordered her unloaded at their arrival, but instead of having them carry her in the box down to her cell, he wanted to make her feel a bit more at home. There was to be no mistaking of her understanding where she was now.

"Open it and lift her out," he instructed the fully clad guards. Even with her exposed skin, they were not susceptible to her commands. Then there was the deprivation hood that she still wore, and would be wearing for quite a while.

They could all see from her hesitant movements that Teagan was awake, but her fighting had finally calmed down. Had she already started to accept her fate of being back with him?

When the hands grabbed a hold of her torso to lift her out of the confining box, she began to struggle again. She twisted her body trying to get free from them, but even if she did, there was nowhere for her to go.

"Bring her," he instructed as he walked over to the elevator being held open for his team.

Her steps were hesitant, not sure of her footing or what was in front of her. But he knew that very soon that she would figure out where she was. She had walked this path so many times through the years, she would remember it.

Nobody spoke was they rode the elevator down to his project level. Teagan stopped her struggling as they stood there, the guard's bodies pressed against her to hold her in place. Years ago, he would have her beaten for making such physical contact, even if it was them holding her as commanded. Maybe she was waiting for her punishment.

Stepping onto his level, he turned to the right and a few short steps led them to the first security door. Using his hand print, Marcus accessed it and led them further into a hallway. Reaching the second security door, he noticed that Teagan's steps stopped at almost the same time as his. She was counting her steps, remembering the well-used path to her home for so long.

Leading them down the last hall, it was only after they made the final turn to reveal her cell up ahead that Teagan began to struggle. He heard the muffled screams of protest begin also.

"She's going to put up quite a fight," he informed the guards. "Don't let her get away from you."

"She won't," one of them told him as she started to kick out with her feet.

By the time they reached her open cell door, Teagan was practically being dragged on the floor. Her hard thrashing with such a limited air-flow due to the mask left her almost hyperventilating. Marcus wondered if she was about to make herself pass out again. That would make things a lot easier.

"Stand her here," he tapped the concrete floor with his cane to indicate the spot right under the chain.

The guards roughly held Teagan as her body jerked violently, trying to stop what she knew was coming. All it took was a simple securing of the clasp to the ring at the top of the arm binder to detain her back in her cell after being gone for so long. The click as he snapped it shut brought a smile to his face. It was a most satisfying sound.

"That's all," he dismissed the two guards.

Now that he was all alone with his tool, Marcus gave an examination of her body. He ran the Hydra-headed tip of his cane down the long tattoo on one of her bare sides. With a sorrowful cry, she tried jerked her body away from the touch but found that he'd made sure the shortened chain left no room for an escape from him. They would return to their old routine soon enough. Being put back into a familiar pattern would help with breaking her back down to where she would once again be useful.

Smiling as his cane continued its path down, it crossed over her hips then her leg. When it started its upward journey, Marcus allowed it to drag along the inside of her thigh. Her body began to visible tremble with fear as it came to rest between her legs. He then stepped forward, pressing his body up against hers.

Leaning his face close to her black leather one, he whispered, "It's good to have you home, tool. I've missed you."

He knew that Teagan couldn't hear him thanks to the hood, but he felt her body give a violent shudder as if she could. Lifting his hand, he ran it over the leather covering her face, pressing firmly so that her head was forced to turn.

"You know exactly who's touching you, don't you?"

Marcus stood there listening to her pathetic crying, each whimper exciting him just a bit more. He let his hand drag down from her cheek and over her neck, until it finally rested on her breast. Giving it a hard squeeze, she screamed while trying uselessly to back away from his touch.

Smiling, he took a single step back, waited a few seconds, and the slapped her so hard in the face that her dangling body jerked and began to sway in place.

"You know the rules," he pointlessly reminded her about not allowing him access to her.

He waited until her body stopped swinging and she was once again barely able to stand on the balls of her feet. Stepping forward, Marcus grabbed her breast again, expecting her to remember and comply with his touch.

Instead, Teagan once again twisted away from his hand. That disobedient streak he had expected was indeed there, meaning that she was going to have to be broken down just like he had suspected she would.

"Wrong choice," he told her as he once again swung at her face, this time with his closed fist. He made sure not to impact with her jaw, needing her to eventually be able to speak. So instead, he aimed high on her left cheek.

Watching her body hang and swing, her head drooping to her chest, Marcus knew that she was unconscious.

"We're going to have some fun getting you back under control, aren't we?"

Closing the door behind him, Marcus decided to give her a few days of isolation to reacquaint herself with being helpless to his wants. She had always been much more compliant after being left in the dark cell for a bit. This time, he had the hood to help him.

Then he would begin her trips to the training room.

It had been a long day, so he headed to his residence to enjoy being back home again. The next few weeks were going to be busy…and fun.


	31. Sam and Keeling Have A Chance To Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that you are aware, I'm going to handle the upcoming chapters that deal with what Teagan is being put through delicately. I'm not going for the rough gore shock of highly detailing her torture. There are only a few chapters before the dramatic event you are hoping for. They will help build-up to show the mental state our heroine is then at and why she makes some of her shocking decisions. I know that may sound cryptic now, but all will be revealed shortly.

**Unknown Hydra Base  
Unknown Passage of Time**

Sam was firm in his belief that time was passing, he just wasn't sure how much. Every so often, he was almost certain that he managed to stay conscious for a couple of moments, using those precious ticks to try and figure out what was happening around him. But just as he was confident that he had something figured out, he would slip back into the darkness of troubled sleep and loose it all again.

The dreams…or were they nightmares…seemed more real than his waking flashes.

All of them included Teagan in one way or another. Walking down the street holding hands with a smile on her face. Rolling over to find her waking up in bed next to him. Sitting together on a couch laughing at a movie. Lying on the grass watching the clouds, one of her favorite pastimes.

But then all of them ended the same way…with Teagan's screams as she was consumed by a dark miasma.

His mind was trying to reveal a painful memory that he hadn't been able to prevent.

After so long, Sam felt the weight of his body instead of the sensation of floating in a dream. The clouds in his mind finally began to clear. The nightmares that had haunted him for so long took a new shape…as images of the past.

Teagan was gone, taken from him. There was something actively stopping him from getting to her. Something was keeping him here and he had to fight it. Teagan needed him and he was not sure how he was going to find her.

Sam fought to be conscious, barely managing to crack open his eyes to see if this was real.

The first things he was sure of after finally waking was that the room he was in was a bright white, it smelled of bleach and chemicals just like every other hospital he'd ever been in, and that there was a very large Hydra symbol painted in red on the concrete wall directly in front of him. The damn thing's empty eyes seemed to be boring into him, as if threatening him.

Rolling his head to the side, Sam was able to see that he was secured to a typical hospital bed with heavy, dark brown leather medical cuffs with thick white interior padding on both his wrists. They were then connected to heavy straps that encompassed the bed frame. To remove them, Sam would need a special magnetic key. He'd seen this same style used in hospitals on unruly mental patients. There was no way for him to free himself.

Underneath the restraints were gauze bandages with a hint of red to them. They had taken care of the cut wounds he had created with the handcuffs while fighting to free himself on the plane…

The last place he had seen Teagan.

Unfortunately, his left forearm was also covered in a cast, telling him that it had been hurt. There was no pain from it to gauge exactly how bad though.

His arms were held at the edge of the bed with nothing nearby to help him escape. An IV line ran to an empty bag hanging next to beeping monitors. Moving his legs which were parted, he felt something holding them down, probably the same type of cuffs. The bed's thin sheet was partially pulled up him so he was able to see that he now wore an orange version of a hospital gown, probably to indicate he was a prisoner, not a typical patient.

Knowing that he was more awake now than he had been, Sam let his mind wander to the last painful memories that he tried to ignore. Steve and Nat were gone, buried at that damn base. He was all alone and useless. He had failed Teagan. For so long she had been told that they…he…would keep her safe from Keeling.

And it had all turned out to be a lie.

How was he ever going to help her now when he couldn't even help himself?

He was just as much a prisoner as she was…only injured.

The door to his room was closed, making the beeping sound of the machines give a slight echo. Above his head, the bright fluorescent lights not only managed to hurt his eyes, but helped the pounding in his head to feel like a drum so he closed them to block it out. He was almost sure now that he had gotten hurt more than just his arm when he fell, Sam just wasn't sure how badly.

About that time was when Sam heard footsteps getting louder as if coming towards him. There was also a tapping sound that he felt he should recognize.

"I'm surprised it took you so long to check on him," a feminine voice spoke from somewhere nearby, partially muffled by the door.

"I had a more pressing _issue_ to deal with," the male responded. "He's still alive, correct?"

"Yes. He was admitted with minor injuries. We've put a cast on his fractured forearm, and that will take a few weeks to properly heal. The cuts on his wrists from the cuffs will be gone in only a few more days. But the prisoner does have a mild concussion," the female informed him. "It looks like he hit his head when he landed on the ground. He'll still probably have at least headaches, nausea, and sensitivity to light for the next few days, but nothing more serious than that unless the injury is aggravated."

Sam cracked a single eye open to find himself still blinded by the brightness of the room again. Off near the closed door were the two people talking, a male and a female doctor. His head was indeed pounding with a headache once again, just like the doctor said. A mild concussion. Considering he could have died...yeah, he'd take the concussion.

"So he's fine to be moved to a proper cell?"

Sam now recognized that hateful voice…Keeling. The tapping was his loathsome walking cane on the tile floor.

"Unless you really need him moved immediately, just to avoid any more injuries to the head, I would advise for him to remain here. Giving him solid foods in his condition could induce vomiting, so he's being feed intravenously. We have also been keeping him sedated so he's been unconscious most of the time since he arrived, just like you requested. He could also reinjure the arm, possibly worsening the fracture."

"I need him alive. He has a valuable purpose."

"Then let's keep him here to insure his recovery. We'll make sure he is well taken care of. Give us a week or two, and then he can be transferred without worry."

Wanting to spring out of bed and hit that man repeatedly, Sam tried lifting his weak arm but it was stopped abruptly after only a few inches. He had forgotten about the bed restraints.

"So he's unconscious now?"

"It's about time to change out his IV bag again, so he may be partially awake."

"I want to see him."

"Right here, Sir. The nurse has his next round of sedatives. Let me know if you need anything," he heard before the retreating footsteps.

The door to Sam's room opened, revealing the one person he hated the most in this entire world right now. Marcus Keeling strode across the few feet to stand right next to his bed. He wanted to take that cane and hit him upside the head with it. The repulsive male was followed in by a nurse who carried a clear IV bag, probably the stuff that was keeping him knocked out.

With malice in his voice, Sam firmly told Keeling, "You're a sick bastard, you know that right?"

Keeling grinned down at him bending slightly to loom over him.

"Why do you think that Hydra recruited me in the first place? That don't exactly accept applicants that have pure morals," he smugly told him.

"Why did you have to have Teagan back? Why couldn't you just let her go to have some kind of life after all the sadistic bullshit that you've already done to her?"

"Hydra needs her now more than ever," Keeling bluntly told him. "Since our exposure, we've lost a lot of agents in high places. We'd had decades to place our people where they were needed, and now they are gone. With Teagan's powers, we can now replace them with new valuable ones, even those who would not normally become Hydra. She will be instrumental to rebuilding Hydra's ranks inside of numerous governments by taking those loyal to others and commanding them to do _our_ bidding. They will vote how we need them to, they will move troops where we need them, they will pass along strategic information to us…Hydra will once again be the new world government behind the curtain."

Sam couldn't believe what he was hearing. They were going to implant themselves right back inside of the political machine, just like they had been before the Shield computer file dump onto the internet. With Teagan's powers, anyone they could get their hands on for her to command would find themselves unable to stop themselves from becoming double agents for Hydra.

"That didn't work so well for you the first time," Sam pointed out.

"Last time, Captain America and Black Widow were there to stop us. This time, they're dead."

The sharpness of hearing that spoken aloud felt like a stab through Sam's heart. As far as he knew, they _were_ dead. He'd seen the crumbling rock heading right for them. They had been buried inside of that hanger, never knowing that he and Teagan were captured. He couldn't let this pompous jerk know how disturbing it was for him to hear that, otherwise he would somehow use it against him.

"Don't forget that I was there helping them. I worked hard that day killing a number of your friends," he tried to sound confident.

With a flick of Keeling's finger, the nurse, who had been intently listening to them talk, moved over and began to change out the empty bag with the new one. Once it was started, he would be their unconscious prisoner yet again. He gave a couple of yanks at his arms and legs, but not a single limb moved more than an inch.

"And once _you_ ", he lifted his cane's Hydra head to point at him, "are on _our_ side, you'll be using those same skills to kill _for_ Hydra," Keeling grinned down at him, seeing the useless struggle he'd given.

Sam felt an eerie coldness slither down his spine.

"What are you talking about?"

"Did you really think that you were _only_ here just because of your _relationship_ with Teagan?" Keeling shook his head in disappointment. "Granted, that was the reason I wanted you brought in, but then we began to realize the numerous _important_ contacts that you would be able to access. Tony Stark, Wanda Maximoff, Secretary Ross, Thor, King T'Challa…there are a lot of high profile people out there that _you_ can get us access to. Useful ones you will bring in to meet Teagan. Friends are easy, just a simple call for help. The same goes for those actively searching for your group of criminals. Those who would not be as useful to our cause, you will kill for us. Then there are the others, the ones you fought against in Berlin that would like a chance for a rematch. Your presence will help set them up to be captured, just like you were."

"That will never work," Sam knew he didn't sound as confident as he had hoped.

Keeling then gave a sadistic grin, " _You_ may even know the fate and location of the Asset…the Winter Solider. I'm not even going to bother asking right now, because you'll just deny it. All I'll have to do once Teagan turns you into a loyal Hydra solider is simply ask and you'll tell us _everything_ we want to know. With her ability, we will not need the code words or Chair anymore."

Sam gritted his teeth as he tried to lurch for the evil man standing only a foot away from the bed.

"She'll _never_ do that to me," he told him. "She'll _never_ make me Hydra."

Keeling tapped his cane hard on the floor as he turned towards the door, taking a few slow steps while he gave Sam a retort.

"Either she will turn you as commanded or I'll personally pull the trigger to blow your brains out right in front of her. If she cares for you the way that I _suspect_ that she does, it's only a matter of time before you'll be saying ' _hail Hydra'_ …and meaning it."

With that parting threat, Keeling was gone, only the sound of his cane echoing through the halls as he left.

Glancing over at the nurse, Sam could only watch as the nurse flipped the IV's line roller clamp, allowing the vile liquid to flow into his arm. Struggle again as he felt the cold fluid enter his vein, the nurse flipped off the overhead lights as she left while his fading vision was drawn to the spotlight focused on the painted red eyes staring down at him…only now, it was laughing.

* * *

**Colorado Hydra Base**

"How is it going?" Natasha asked from the hallway behind him. Turning around, he found her with a plate stacked with sandwiches for his lunch.

"Slow, but steady," he informed her, wiping away the sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm.

There had been a few times when the removal of a key rock had shifted and dropped a load of debris towards his head. After the first time, Steve had always made sure to test the stability of his next move. Knowing that if something happened to him that Nat would be stuck down here, he had slowed down his progress to increase their safety.

Taking the offered plate, he practically inhaled the half of a ham sandwich. "I'm going to need somewhere to start storing what I remove."

After spending the past week moving the debris out of the, _hopefully_ , escape tunnel, he had begun to realize that the hallway would be filled up before they could get out. The tunnel was much higher than he'd originally anticipated. Therefore, they needed to move the rocks to another nearby room to keep the hallway clear.

They both then sat down on some of the larger boulders and concrete chucks that he had pulled from the tunnel.

"Keeling's office is right over there," she pointed to a door over her shoulder. "Plenty big enough with another security room just outside of it. They should hopefully work for what we need."

"Good," he told her, reaching over for the water bottle on the floor. "Think you can manage some of the smaller ones, and I'll take the large?"

"Guess that means my vacation time is up," she joked while eating her own sandwich.

After lunch they got to work and it didn't take long before Nat was taking off the sweatshirt she had been wearing. To keep him from overheating, they had turned the air unit to pump out colder air. Nat had been only mildly suffering while he had been at a comfortable temperature to work in.

As they began to silently work in tandem, Steve knew that they had gotten off easy. The galley had been stocked with plenty of food, enough to feed all of the workers for a few weeks. There were not a lot of fresh items, telling them that either another shipment was coming in or that they had not expected to be here for long. They both agreed with the latter.

Since he was working all day to clear the tunnel, Nat had taken charge of cooking all their meals. While he had been hauling out rocks, she was roaming the base and going through the computer systems that had been left behind during their rushed evacuation. So far, she had not found anything useful that would lead them back to wherever Sam and Teagan had probably been taken.

Even with them both hoping they had escaped, they silently knew that them having been captured was a possibility. Maybe by the time they got out of here she would have something for them to go on.

* * *

**Unknown Hydra Base**

This time when she woke up on the thin mattress in her cell, her mind was once again clear and sharp. That wasn't always the case and she much preferred those other muddled stints of time.

The initial repeated sessions of madness and panic over her situation had been pushed from her mind too long ago. By the third trip to the training room, she had stopped struggling with them as she was dragged through the hallway. They had made sure that it would be even more physically painful to do so upon arrival.

So she had stopped…everything.

Stopped fighting, stopped panicking, stopped screaming, stopped being angry, stopped caring what was happening.

She had let her mind break away to find a place where it would be happy.

It was at times like this, with her mind clear, knowing she would be here with Keeling forever, that she hated the most.

Lying face down on the pathetic bed, she wondered how long this hated clarity would last this time. Hopefully only a couple of minutes, she'd deal with an hour, and pray that it was not another full day. Until the blissful insanity her mind had created was restored, she would be counting the seconds until it returned and would remove the painfully clear memories… _no, not a memory, Sam was nothing but a dream_ …that continued to haunt her.

She once again knew exactly where she was and what was still happening.

And she was determined to spend as much time of the rest of her life in that other place…inside the wonderful dream that she'd had during this Hydra nightmare.

She had woken up one day and it had all been gone.

She wanted to go back to the imaginary world where she was free from Hydra, she had friends that cared for her, and where Sam loved her.

Out of all the fantasies and dreams over the years that she had, that one had been the best.

That's why she hated these lucid times. They were nothing more than a reminder that she still was in fact nothing more than Keeling's tool….no, his punching bag.

Her body felt that it was no longer riddled with pain, only having sharp aches all over her chest and legs. Would this be the remainder of her life? Constant beatings in the dark. She was no longer tired, knowing that she had slept for more hours than were normally allowed. Why had Keeling not come for her yet? He never let guards deal with her on their own. He always oversaw her 'training'.

In fact, now that she considered it, nobody had entered her cell to feed her between the trips to the training room. Maybe she had finally outlived her usefulness to Hydra. Couldn't they have just shot her instead of starving her to death? She knew that there was a feeding tube in her nostril just like always, but the meal times were gone. No one let her know that they were there to inject the liquid meals. Were they doing so without her realizing?

Carefully standing up onto her sore feet, the aching in her shoulders was more noticeable now that she was moving around. But lying face down was how she spent every moment not standing. There was no comfortable position to sleep in fixed the way she was. Wiggling her fingers, they were met with the familiar metal that encased them. Of course, that slight movement caused the pins-and-needles feeling to spread through her bent arms. Keeling had been so proud of her arm restraint when she had first come here, bragging about how he had thought of the design.

She'd always thought it ironic that Keeling had bound her hands in a prayer formation, only behind her instead of in front, since she had stopped years ago praying for any release from this hell.

Lifting her head upright, it finally hit her hand's covering, giving her something to rest it on. Staring upwards towards the ceiling, she wondered if the light above her was on but knew that it probably wasn't. The only change had been the beeping sound that no longer frustrated her with its irregularity. In fact, having gone deaf while being captured, she no longer heard any sound, not even the unit pumping air into this section. If Keeling was demanding her to answer questions, he was out of luck.

The only thing she was sure of was him taking a hold of her the way he used to do. The way he would grasp her, his show of dominance that she was required to submit to. Only now, when he held her, she would struggle, she would fight him...she would make him so mad that he would eventually kill her. That was her plan.

But right now, this lucid time was drawing on for far too long. She needed to get back to the dream world where Sam was hopefully waiting for her again. Maybe this time she could take him to Ireland to see the cliffs at Moher. So how could she get back there, to the dark?

The same way she had done it over the years…through pain.

Breathing in as much as the constricting hood would allow, she braced herself for what was to come.

Walking to the furthest corner point of her cell as the chain would allow, she turned to face the opposite corner. She had long ago memorized every inch of her home. After a couple of forced, scared huffs of breath, she darted at her full speed towards the upcoming corner wall.

Just before impact, the arm binder that was chained to the ceiling snapped at the end of its length, and her journey was abruptly halted in a half-second…as her left shoulder popped out of its joint.

The excruciating pain that radiated throughout her caused her to scream out through the horrible gag that did not do the volume of her voice justice.

Dropping to her knees while still pulling on the chain, she let her body's weight sear the injury deeper into her body until she finally felt the wanted darkness arriving that would bring the wonderful dreams of Sam back to her.

* * *

"Damn her," Keeling mumbled as the crew from medical arrived on his level.

Without a word to them, he turned towards the security door that would take them down the hallway to her cell.

Less than two weeks since she had been brought back and it was not going the way that he had suspected it would be. By now, he had believed that the heavier imposed isolation the hood offered would have gotten to her. In a way, it had, he considered. But the current result was not want he wanted or needed.

Instead of the panic attacks that he had expected her to have which would finally push her into his compliance, they had lasted only days before she had somehow shut herself down, as if she instead had been broken in a different direction. She didn't even bother begging for the beatings to stop as he had hoped.

Every time that he thought she might have started to give up, to fall back into the old pattern they'd had, Teagan would defy him. With each touch of his hand on her body, she pulled away from him. She knew what was expected of her, but it seemed she would rather take the beatings.

He had wanted to make her suffer for even being taken from him in the first place. The daily beatings were not only to help persuade her but to make up for the lost time while she was freed. He had yet to use her body again. That would come once he was sure that she was at the tipping point of submission, which was looking further away every day.

When the guard had called him into the security room and replayed the video of her running till the chain stopped her to dislocated her shoulder, he could only stand there speechless.

Why had she done this to herself again? Thinking back, there had been a similar event had happened. That time, Teagan had too much slack on the chain so she had been able to jump upwards while pulling her feet from under her before the stopping jerk of falling had dislocated her shoulder then. Except for causing herself pain, he could see no point in the move.

"Sir, we can't take her to medical like that," one of the voices drew him back to the present. Looking at the one who'd spoken, he could see them turning up their noses at Teagan.

As he wandered his own thoughts, they had arrived at her open cell and the guards were staring at her naked, hanging form.

"Why not?"

The two male guards looked at each other, as if not understanding his question.

"Sir, they are going to complain about the stench," the second one stated.

Through the years, Keeling had grown used to the sight and smell of her after having to spend a couple of days locked away without any type of shower. The beatings she suffered in the training room produced a mixture of sweat and blood, neither of which he had cleaned off. Instead, he had ordered her to not be hosed off since arriving hoping to drive home the point that any comfort she had grown used to was once again gone.

"That door there," he indicated just outside her cell, "is the hose. Inject her with the tranquilizer first, clean her up, take her up to medical, and tell them I want her back down here as soon as possible. She is not to be allowed to regain consciousness for even a moment."

The two guards stood there while processing his commands before nodding as they finally started to move. While one opened the metal door to the hose area, the other stepped inside the cell and slid the needle into her neck. He wanted to make sure that she never knew that anyone ever came into her cell. Right now, she was still unconscious from her actions, dangling from the chain as her body arched since her shins and thighs rested on the floor. With the sensory deprivation hood on she wouldn't have been able to hear them enter even if she'd been awake.

He doubted that she even knew that a guard came in twice a day to pump the meals through her feeding tube. It had a longer extension to it so that the guard was still over two feet away from her at all times. It was after her time in the training room when she was fed, the times when she was heavily unconscious from exhaustion. Since she had never moved or indicated that she knew someone was close, he felt the hood was doing that part of its job properly.

The guards finished using the water hose to clean up her lower body before he unhooked the arm binder from behind her back. Placing her unconscious on the gurney, they wheeled her away.

"Make sure that neither she or the other prisoner are conscious while she's in medical. She is _not_ to know that she _ever_ left this cell."

"Yes, Sir," one of them responded seconds before the elevator door shut.

This was only a minor setback. He would break her down, it just might take a few extra days.

He would have his tool back, one way or another.


	32. Time Keeps On Slipping Away

**Colorado Hydra Base**   
**Thirteen Days Later**

"I see light."

Nat couldn't believe how much relief she finally felt over her entire body at Steve's few simple words. That meant that all of this work for almost two weeks had not been in vain. Steve had worked so hard to get them out of here, with her making him take three 'brake days' during their trapped time. It might have kept them here a bit longer, but after a few days she could see how physically and mentally exhausted Steve would sometimes get. She had finally won the argument about him needing the breaks every so often.

"Can you tell how much debris is left up in the tunnel?" she stepped closer towards where Steve was standing with a smile on his face. She knew that he was just as anxious to get out of here as she was.

"Since it's still early in the day, maybe by tonight," he grinned at her.

"Then what are you still standing around for?" she grinned back at him.

"So bossy," he told her with mirth in his voice for the first time in so long.

Nat could only hope that once they were up and out of this damn base that they would finally know what had happened to Sam and Teagan.

 _Please let them be safe_ , she thought.

* * *

**Unknown Hydra Base  
Unknown Time Later**

The panic was starting once again. Her chest was tightening. There was something heavy pressing on her. The stale air in the cell was turning solid, stopping her from being able to breathe through her one nostril. Opening her gagged mouth wide enough that her jaw hurt, she managed to gasp for the remaining air before she suffocated.

If she did not calm down, she was going to pass out again. With the hood and nose feeding tube, her ability to breathe was limited. And that was probably not going to go away any time soon.

The drumming beats of her heart were racing as she willed for them to achieve a steady, calm pace. She tried to think about anything else besides the engulfing darkness that held her.

The silence of death had been swarming around her for…days, weeks, months?

Was she even still alive?

Because Keeling was. And there were so many long spaces that were consumed with nothing but her imaginings of how to change that status of his. Picturing his broken, bloodied body, tortured or maimed, was the only highlights to her own existence now. There was little else to occupy her weakening mind.

She had also been trying to figure out what had happened with her shoulder, but she was no closer to figuring that out. Nobody had ever come to fix it. Had causing the injury been just another dream? In fact, none of her previous injuries from the beatings in the training room hurt. Had she really been taken there? There were so many other questions that swarmed her bored mind. How could she live this long without being fed? What had happened to her hearing? Was this nothing more than a nightmare of being a prisoner? Was any of this real?

Exploring the area around her, Teagan's bare foot once again only met with the openness. Over and over her feet lashed out trying to find anything to tell her that she was not alone. That there was something, anything, by the ground under her feet.

But there was only emptiness.

When she had woken up, it had not been on the mattress where she had fallen asleep. Instead, she found herself standing up with the chain shortened so that she could not move from the spot where she stood. This had happened to her many times now, each just as confusing as the last. How had she become to stand without remembering? Had she only dreamed of falling asleep lying down all those times?

Building up her breath, she vented her frustration the only way she could.

Her desperate screams of not wanting to exist didn't even reach her own ears.

Thrashing her body side to side, she let herself swing as her feet desperately searched the air. The entirety of her body's weight was supported by her strained, bound arms. Forcing her numb fingers to move, she was almost sure that she felt her nails raking against the metal, pulling them bitterly backward. The wetness of blood starting to run down her hands told her this was in fact real. Tears were falling to pool at the tops of her cheeks were the blindfold pressed to her skin. Eventually they would seep through or dry up, doing whatever the others before them had done.

Once the last small amount of her energy was used up, she allowed her body to swing and sway as she began to calm down and let her mind wander back to a better place.

Teagan smiled as she saw Sam waiting to take her for ice cream.

* * *

**Unknown Hydra Base  
Unknown Amount of Time Later**

Sam felt that he was once again coming back into the land of the living. His body ached and was stiff all over, and there was no doubt it was from having been in the bed without moving for much longer than he ever should have been. The first thing he did was check to see if he was free, but nothing he tried to move would. He was still strapped down to the damn hospital bed. That damned red Hydra symbol still laughing at him.

Rubbing his right wrist on the bed, he managed to pull the bandage over his wounds away just enough to see solid skin underneath. The cuts looked to have been mostly healed, meaning he'd been unconscious a lot longer than he had first though.

Looking over at the IV bag that he knew was responsible for keeping him unconscious, he saw that it was now gone. Checking his arm, the line that had been there had also been removed. The lights were on but they no longer hurt his vision. Except for the fuzzy feeling of just waking up, there was nothing that he could feel that seemed to be a symptom of the concussion.

Exactly how long had they kept him under?

But then he felt a bit of panic when he noticed that the cast was now gone from his left arm. He had forgotten about it, having only seen it the one time. The only reason it should have been removed was because the bone fracture had healed. Unfortunately, that meant that a few weeks had passed by without him having realized.

What did that mean for Teagan? What had she been put through while he had been asleep?

The door to the room was partially open and every so often somebody would pass by. He kept bending his hands back towards the wrists' restraints to try and see if he could accomplish anything to get free. After a while, the nurse stuck her head in the door to check on him before once again disappearing. They knew he was coherent now so it was only a matter of time before he was moved.

Sam heard the tapping of the cane long before the voices finally reached him.

The female doctor's voice reached him first, stating, "If he is to be restrained in some way, I would suggest keeping the ones he has on right now. The damage he did to his wrists was minor. But depending on his mentality, if he has the metal cuffs on again, he would be able to eventually cut his wrists on them, bleeding out."

"I'll keep the medical ones on him then, doctor," Keeling told her as they appeared at his door. The man barely gave him a glace before tapping away on his phone. "Guards will be up shortly to gather him."

"Call me if you need anything," the doctor turned and walked away.

"How long have you kept me here?" Sam angrily asked.

Keeling shook his head in disappointment.

"I would have thought that Teagan had explained the rules to you after being together for so long," he responded.

"You can't keep us here!" Sam struggled uselessly.

"I have, I can, and I will."

"I'll see you dead by my hands one day if you hurt a single hair on her head!"

Keeling gave a single chortle.

"I've heard that before…from my favorite tool."

"Never call her that!"

"But that's exactly what she was and will be once again, thanks to you and your deceased friends' naivety. Maybe I should thank you for bringing her right to me. Hydra had already refused a mission to get her out of the Raft, stating it was too high risk."

Sam's blood ran cold knowing that he was actually right with that statement. There was so much that he would change now if he had only known, or even had a hint, that the base had been nothing more than a ruse to get Teagan back.

"What? No witty comeback?" Keeling asked getting his attention. "That's probably for the best. I don't take kindly to people talking back to me. Just ask…well, never mind. If she hasn't already told you of the punishments for upsetting me, then you'll have plenty of time to learn about them the hard way."

The pounding sound of multiple heavy footsteps preceded the four guards that filed through the door as they made their way over to the foot of Sam's bed. The last one to enter was pushing a wheelchair with him.

"I'm keeping those restraints on him," Keeling began to instruct them pulling out the magnetic key from his pocket. "Put him in a wheelchair and secure him down for the trip to his new home."

The guard didn't even bother to ask any questions as they removed the restraints from the bed, leaving the wrist and ankle cuff in place. They had rings attached that could be used later on to secure him again somewhere else. Holding him while he weakly struggled, with just a bit of trouble them managed to plop him into a waiting wheelchair. There were Velcro straps bolted to the armrests making him think they had to move prisoners often like this. More were wrapped just above his ankles. They were effective with holding him in place, but if he only had time he could bend over and use his mouth to free himself. Having the four guards surrounding him though it was not possible.

There was nothing that he could do as they started to roll him out of the room. None of the nurses they passed even seem interested in what was going on. Keeling led the way through the hall while the guards followed silently with him in tow. Exiting a large swinging door, they were now in a more common populated area.

"Where the hell are you taking me?" he screamed as he looked around the concrete halls of the Hydra base he was now a prisoner in. There were numerous guards, agents, and others moving through the halls. Some looked at him with curiosity, others didn't pay him a bit of attention. All of them wore Hydra patches on their badges.

"Like the boss man said, your new home," one of the guard spoke in a deep voice, sounding amused.

Reaching a bank of elevators, they rode one down a couple of floors. Sam noticed that none of the ten buttons were labeled in any way, meaning that someone had to know which one they needed. He couldn't even be sure if the top button was the ground floor or roof. He also had no idea what floor they had started on. But as the elevator began to move, there was no mistaking the feeling of going downward.

When the doors opened, Sam felt an uncontrollable cold shudder throughout his entire body. Unfortunately, even if Sam had never seen it before now, this level was familiar to him. Teagan had once spoken of it in detail after one of her worst nightmares.

The entire length of the hallway before him was of dark grey colored walls. Where the wall met the ceiling, someone had taken thick, black paint and over-coated the area so that long black streaks ran down the surface, some almost halfway down the wall.

Due to this, the walls gave the appearance that they were crying black tears.

At the time, he had listened to her explanation of what the level she had been kept on looked like, but seeing it for the first time churned his stomach. There was no way Hydra had two places that looked like this. Sam knew then that he was at the base where Teagan had been held for so long.

To the left of the elevator was a white metal door, but it was to the right that they helplessly pushed him. Reaching a metal door painted black, Keeling placed his hand on a sensor pad and typed in a numerical code before the large door clicked unlocked. It automatically opened for them to pass through and they continued to follow Keeling to whatever destination he had planned for Sam.

They resumed their walk down the hallway ahead of them, the same dripping black paint high along the walls. Glancing to his left down the only other hall he could see, Sam saw a couple of doors before the passage ended in another security door, this one formed of bars just like in a prison. Beyond it were two gray metal doors, but it was the single red door that caught his attention. Teagan had never mentioned the red door. Was that new or had she just not mentioned it?

At the far end of the hall was the door to Teagan's old cell, just as she had described its location. Is that where she was currently being held? Would Keeling have put her right back in there?

"Teagan!" he screamed out, taking the slim chance that he would get a response.

"Shut up!" one of the guards demanded before Sam received a back-swing of his hand across the face.

"That is your one breach," Keeling then told him. "I would suggest that you do not make any more or you'll find yourself paying too high a price for disobedience."

Sam was not sure what Keeling meant by the threat, but after hearing the numerous stories from Teagan, he started to think that he did need to watch his footing around here.

They wheeled him past more plain gray metal doors that lined both sides of the hall. Passing by the first couple of doors, it allowed him to see what Sam would normally consider an office area as well as a small guard security room. With this level not being very big, Sam didn't think that it required too many to be here at once.

A small observation room was positioned next. They then passed by the larger room which had a table with leather straps and metal pieces on the surface. He knew this was the interrogation room which Teagan was brought to so often. Hydra used the two room to watch prisoners being questioned and commanded without fear of Teagan ever having a chance to control them.

Moving down the darker hall, Sam saw the rest of the gray cell doors that matched the walls before they ended up at the last cell of the hallway. Keeling used his hand to open up the door on the right wall showing the interior of a plain cell.

"I'll give you one chance to show me that you can be a good prisoner," Keeling told him as the guards unstrapped him from the wheelchair. Two of them stood off only a foot away with stun batons out to show they meant business. There was no way he could get free with all four of them just waiting for a fight.

"And if I don't cooperate?"

"Then I knock you unconscious and we toss you inside," one of them with a baton told him.

Sam knew that now was not the time to push a limit he was unsure of. His body was still weak from so long of inactivity. Keeling had already stated that he needed him alive, but that didn't mean that he couldn't be hurt until that time came. He also had no idea where Teagan actually was. There had been no response to his cry out for her. He could only hope that she was somewhere nearby since this is where Keeling had kept her before.

Standing up, Sam unsteadily stepped inside the cell and looked around. Instead of a cot, there was a low concrete platform with a thin mattress, pillow, and blanket lying atop of it. Teagan had told him how her cell had the same. The other side of the small area had a sink, toilet, and open shower. Glancing up he noticed there was a single camera located at the front corner of the cell, opposite side of the bed, mounted so high up he could not reach it.

The one thing this cell had that none of the others he'd ever been in or seen was the chain mounted on the back wall that was dangling so that it pooled on the floor. Looking down at the cuffs still secured to his wrists, Sam knew that Keeling would not hesitate to use the item to limit his movements even more if he was angered by his earlier outburst. But the order never came as he was left alone in the cell.

One of the guards slammed the solid metal door shut and he was able to make out footsteps as they began to move away. At eye level, there was a small square for the guards to be able to check on him through. There was a second lower window just barely big enough for a food tray to slide sideways through which had a hinged panel that was closed for now.

"Keeling! Where's Teagan?" he yelled while trying to see into the hall through the small opening.

The tapping sound of the cane on the concrete floor paused for a moment.

"Show me that you can be a good prisoner and I might consider letting you see her in a few weeks. If not, there will be repercussions."

Weeks?

The tapping sound resumed.

What was that bastard planning on doing to them over those weeks?

Sam slammed his fists on the heavy metal door, hating that he had not gotten any type of answer about Teagan or how she might be doing.

Deciding to take a chance, Sam gave a couple of hard pounds onto the door.

"Teagan! Can you hear me?"

He remembered how she had spoken of how this floor was laid out, that her cell was down that other hall. But she had also once been moved to these cells for a short time. Sam pressed his face to the open panel, turning his ear outward in hopes of any type of sign from her that she heard him.

Instead, there was nothing but silence.

Even the tapping cane and guards' footsteps were gone, leaving the hallway empty.

"Teagan! Please answer me!"

Sam waited in silent long minutes for a response that never came.

* * *

 **Hydra Base**  
**In The Dark**

Giggling as she knelt on the floor of her cell, Teagan made another mental note as to a good punishment for Keeling. Not that it would be easy to find a large tub of boiling tar pitch anywhere around here. She also hoped that by submersing him up to his neck did not end his life. He needed to suffer, she wanted him to suffer. She would laugh at his suffering.

Another slap of a large hand contacted her cheek, bringing out another bout of the giggles. This was nothing compared to what she had been going through. For what she figured were a couple of days, she had been only allowed to stand or kneel when she was in her cell. Keeling had taken away her ability to sit or lay on her bed, leaving her in a strained stance when she finally managed to get to sleep.

Those times were when her mind conjured up some of her best torture ideas for him. Braking every bone in his hands, just like he had done to her, was still one of her favorites.

And another slap. She had refused to submit to his hold when Keeling had come into her cell a little while ago. Angered, he had pushed on her shoulders to force her to her knees before taking his time slapping her over and over. If he thought that would work, he was a fool.

Teagan had begun mentally counting each strike, finally reaching the number ten. When he had paused, she had eagerly waited for the next one. Not wanting him to think she was weakening, she had begun to scream through the gag at him to hit her again. Cursing and prodding him on, he eventually took the bait, causing the first round of giggles. That had been a few minutes ago. Since then, he had not let up on his assault.

She laughed aloud hoping that he injured his own hand. Another slap.

* * *

**Safe House In South Dakota**   
**Weeks Later**

"Anything?" Steve asked as Nat came back down from the upstairs.

"No," she almost whispered the answer.

They had come back to the safe house in South Dakota with the hopes of finding Sam and Teagan here, hiding from Hydra, safe. She had just dashed that. Even with the downstairs showing no sign of anyone having been here recently, she had gone up to check the bedrooms. He had check the refrigerator hoping to find food inside to indicate that maybe they were just out.

They both silently walked over to the kitchen table and sat down, neither of them in the mood to talk. There was not a lot more for them to do to find their missing friends.

They had spent a few weeks recuperating and making inquiries into possible Hydra base locations back at Clint's safe house in Colorado after getting out that the base finally. The Quinjet had been right where they had left it, but slightly scorched on the outside from the fire that had burned around it. The back ramp had been left open and they could only surmise that Teagan had opened it to escape, fearing the jet burning.

Instead, Nat had surmised from the disturbances of the surrounding vegetation, a small unit of agents had been lying in wait. They both agreed that she had probably not been able to escape them. From where they had last known Sam to be, he would have been too far away.

"What now?"

At her simple question, Steve look up from where he had been staring at the scratch on the table from when Teagan had made such a funny, crude joke that it caused Sam to drop his knife and scratch the surface. It had been the first real time that he suspected that he had seen her trampled-down personality truly emerge. His eyes caught Nat's, slowly shaking his head.

"I don't know."

He hated say that, but it was the truth.

"Then let's plan on staying here for a few weeks," she offered. "I'll send out a few more queries, this time to some of my less reputable contacts to see if they can find out anything."

Steve knew that he was only partially listening to Nat's idea, so he just nodded his head in agreement.

Standing up, he made his way out onto the back porch and sat down in one of the colorful rocking chairs that he and Sam had put a fresh coat of paint on when they had been here. Sam had specifically found a bright green color for one of them, designating it specifically for Teagan's use. And as he sat in it, regarding the grassy patch of yard, Steve couldn't help but recall his missing friends out here for hours playing baseball.

The same two friends that he had failed…just like Bucky.

Slumping down into the chair, elbows resting on his knees, he covered his face with his hands.

* * *

Nat didn't know what to say or do to help Steve get out of the foul mood that he was in since she felt exactly the same way.

They had finally talked about how both their actions had led to Sam and Teagan being captured and taken away. Neither one of them blamed the other, only themselves. Her information could have been checked better, but she doubted that she would have discovered the secret Hydra ambush plan. She knew that, it just didn't make her feel any better. Steve was looking at it as a failure similar to when he had lost Bucky all those years ago. She had pointed out that he had eventually found him, and the same would go for Sam and Teagan, they just had to keep looking.

Heading out to her overnight bag, Nat pulled the emergency burner phone out and laid it on the coffee table before turning the TV on to one of the news channels. Maybe a politician abruptly changing his stance on a topic, voting the opposite of his party, a sudden resignation from a high position. If she noticed anything that seemed slightly off during a news story, it might give a clue to their friends' location.

With the news anchor babbling on about the stock market, Nat couldn't pull her eyes away from the device laid out before her, trying to will it to ring.


	33. Day In, Day Out, Same Old, Oh Please No...

**Unknown Hydra Base  
A Long Time Later**

After his last meal, Sam did one of the few things that he could…he paced back and forth in his cell. He wasn't in the mood for more push-ups. Five normal paces was all that he could manage before his toes would hit the damn solid surfaces that were trapping him here. He'd been over every inch of this damn cell numerous times and there was no way out of it and nothing for him to even use as a weapon.

Except for the mattress, pillow, and blanket, every other object was immovable. He wouldn't even try to figure out how to use the bar of soap or rubber toothbrush. He could tell that the metal of the door was thick by the numerous times he had pounded on it. The concrete walls were probably just as thick, only he found that they didn't make a sound.

During their time on the run, he had often joked with Teagan about getting cabin fever since they often found themselves staying around the safe houses to make sure they were not spotted. But at least then they could still go outside. There had even been towns where they could blend in and just be together.

This, on the other hand, was worse than his time on the Raft. There, he had Clint and Tic-Tac to chat with. They had also been taken one at a time to the gym for daily exercises. Here, there was not a single other prisoner around. Sam guessed that his feelings about this place were similar to how Teagan's had been about her time on the Raft.

At least after that first day, the orange medical gown had been changed out for a standard orange prison jumpsuit. The guard hadn't given him socks or shoes since the temperature on this level was constantly maintained.

And worse, he had not set foot outside of this small cell since arriving here.

As for how long he had been here, Sam was only guessing. If his sleep schedule and soap wall markings were to be believed, then it had to be over three weeks, maybe even longer. They only fed him about twice a day, normal breakfast items with something more substantial for a dinner meal. The overhead light would go on and off all on its own, but he knew from Teagan's stories how Keeling liked to mess with the mind. It could be the dead of night right now and he'd never know it. Time was progressing by at a slow drag.

Then there was the fact that he had no idea how long they had kept him in medical unconscious.

He had begun to do a variety of exercise routines to try and keep his body and mind from becoming stagnant. He was aware of how mental breakdown was possible without any type of stimulation. He would routinely take unnecessary showers and remake his bed just to have some type of action.

There were no books, no music or television…nothing to occupy his time. It was a slightly maddening type of isolation that Keeling had dumped onto him.

When the guards brought his meals, they had refused to speak to him in any way. Sam was sure that it was due to Keeling's command. He was determined to break him down.

Unfortunately, there had been the few instances where he had found himself sitting on the cold floor, staring blankly at the door, hoping that it would suddenly open to find any of his friends on the other side…even Tony.

If this was him coping, how had Teagan been doing this entire time?

Giving up the monotonous pacing to lay down, he listened to the gentle hum of the ventilation in the hallway, hearing the clicking sound as it turned off. Once again the cell was so quiet he could listen to his heartbeat.

Moments later, a faint something pricked at his senses.

Sam sat up from the pathetic bed in his cell. He was sure that he had just heard something moments before.

Going over to the metal door, he placed his ear against the cold surface trying to find the noise again. After a few long seconds, he was rewarded with it again…but he had no idea what it was.

He knew it wasn't the guards coming with another food tray. It wasn't Keeling's cane tapping on the floor. There was only one other thing it could be…

"Teagan!" he screamed at the door, pounding his fist over and over hoping that she would hear him. "Answer me, Teagan!"

Pausing for a few seconds, the sound was made every so often but it never changed to indicate that he had been heard. His mind was telling him that it almost sounded like faint screaming.

Was it even her?

* * *

Marcus motioned from the red door leading into the training room for the guard to stop his assault on Teagan. He had finally heard the sound he had been waiting for while sitting in his office. It had taken weeks to finally get her to scream out in pain once again after only accomplishing it those first few days back since arriving here. All it had taken was a change in techniques. The beatings were having no effect, so he'd decided to up their little game.

He wondered how high the voltage of the electro-pads placed all around her body had been turned up to finally get to her. Even with the gag still in place, her cries had echoed off the concrete walls. Teagan stood near the corner of the room, the easiest spot to secure her properly for today's session. The chain from the ceiling was secured to her arms but her legs had been spread and chained apart. This would keep her from moving or twisting to pull the pads off of her body. All she could do was barely sway back and forth.

From down the hallway, he could hear the sound of Falcon uselessly calling out for Teagan again, not that she could answer. Had he also been able to hear her screams of pain? A smile formed at thinking that he probably had.

So far, Falcon had actually been a mostly well behaved prisoner, not that he was given much of a chance to act out. Calling out for his absent girlfriend only confirmed that he still cared for her. So Marcus had ordered isolation for him, with receiving his meals being the only human contact that he'd had for numerous weeks.

The same could not be said for Teagan. She had been taken from her cell on almost a daily basis for trips to the training room. Sometimes he would leave her for a day of isolation, hoping it would help break her. It had just taken a lot longer than he had wanted to finally get her to this stage. Her bruised rattled body was proof of that.

"Let her be for a moment," he told the guard who was overseeing today's punishment and had a look of triumph for getting her to finally holler. "Give us some time."

Her screams of pain had now been replaced with low, choking sobs. Was she finally ready to obey?

The guard nodded to him as he passed by to head to the small break room the guards on this level used. There had been a pleased smile on his face at the new assignment he had been given, Marcus noticed. A little bit of electricity and in less than a day she'd possibly caved. Maybe he should have authorized this new shock device weeks ago.

Walking over to where Teagan was, he could hear gentle sobs coming from behind the leather hood that had not been removed since the moment he had put it on. Due to the liquid meals she had been given since arrival, he saw that her body had lost the healthy tone that it had when she had gotten here. Her weight had dropped significantly to the point where he was almost able to count her ribs. Her legs were starting to look more like twigs. She had even begun to have a hard time walking from her cell to in here, letting the guards drag her most of the time.

"That stubbornness of yours is starting to take its toll on your body," Marcus told her, knowing full well that the hood blocked out his words. "Maybe those screams of yours mean that you are finally ready to give up this fight. Then I might decide to let you eat a proper meal."

Reaching out, he ran his hand from her cheek, and down her neck, until it rested on her bare collarbone. The day after her arrival she had been put back into her old simple tube top to cover her breasts and a bandage skirt to hide her private areas, which only he was allowed to see. Neither item impaired any torture she would endure, while allowing him easy access to her body.

Teagan had been stiff when he first touched her, but as his hand drifted downward, she must have realized that it was him and not the guard. She knew he would never share. That was when she flinched away from his hand, a touch that she knew to allow to happen.

"Maybe you are not ready after all," he told her, giving her face a familiar hard slap.

That was when the mumbled complaints started. None of her words were intelligible, but there was no mistaking the tone behind them. If she still wanted to fight, that was fine with him.

Walking around behind her, he propped his cane upright, freeing both of his hands for something more pleasurable. Wrapping both arms around her chest, Marcus tightened them, pressing her metal-covered arms into his own chest. It was an old move that he had quite enjoyed doing to her over the years.

Teagan began to struggle, her body wiggling against his. Maybe soon he would be able to take much more from her again. His body had already started to respond to her being pressed against him, his cock starting to harden at remembering their intimate times together.

Tightening his arms, he painfully squeezed Teagan's body in a show of force and dominance. The position aggravated her already bound arms while constricting her breathing even more. Her body heaved in pain every few seconds during the shallow, short breaths he was allowing to happen.

Grasping his hands into a tight, fisted ball, he shoved them at the base of her neck, cutting off her air even more.

But instead of how she used to slacken, to prove he had control over her, Teagan violently began to struggle. She was showing that she was not give in to him as easily as she used to.

If she had shown him the subservience that she knew he wanted, they would have moved on to the next phase. Henry Bradshaw was eager to have his double agents put into places of importance. But it looked like it was going to take a lot more time to break her than he had hoped it would.

Releasing her, he listened to her gagged gasps for air as he walked back to stand before her, picking his cane back up.

"What bad decisions you are making…"

With that parting phrase, Marcus reached over and flipped the lever to activate the electro-shock unit that was attached to the pads covering her torso and legs. Teagan's body began to twitch from the pain, violently shaking as the electrical shocks flowed through her body. By the time that he reached the door to leave, he was rewarded with the sounds of her scream in pain. The agent must have not turned it down when he left.

"Too bad. Should have obeyed me."

Walking to the guard room, he informed the one who was in charge of today's session drinking a cup of coffee, "Take you time. Maybe when you get back to her, the machine might have _jolted_ some sense into her."

They could hear her continuing screams mixed with the guards' laughter.

The guard gave an eerie smile at the painful insinuation, "Yes, Sir."

Marcus left his office door open so that he could enjoy the sounds she made while he worked.

Too bad Falcon calling out her name could be heard as well as she could be. He was not being a model prisoner. Too bad for him.

Maybe he was in need of his own type of torture…

* * *

Sam heard the tapping of that hated cane echoing through the hall before he heard the sound of the footsteps that accompanied it. Standing back away from the cell's door, he had no idea what to be in store for. It had to have been weeks since anyone had spoken with him.

"Place it right here," he heard Keeling's voice just outside of the door.

There were low scratching sounds, but nothing that he could place.

Suddenly, there were a couple of loud bangs on the door, knocking as if trying to figure out if he was still outside.

"Falcon," Keeling called out to him. "You know, I've started thinking that leaving you all alone in there with nothing to occupy you might be a bit cruel. That you need something to help pass your time with us."

Sam felt a cold dread wash over his entire body. Keeling might be saying one thing, but Sam knew that he meant the exact opposite.

"So, since you've been a good little prisoner, I've decided that you need a little reward. Therefore, I'm going to let you hear from Teagan."

The small viewing door was opened, giving him the opportunity to look out into the hallway if he had been closer. Sam wanted so much to see if Teagan was outside of that window, but he didn't think that Keeling would be that accommodating.

Sudden screams of pain in a hauntingly familiar feminine voice made Sam lurch forward, slamming his body into the door for a glimpse of…

Through the small window, he spotted Keeling standing next to a small portable speaker resting atop of a small metal table against the opposite wall.

"I knew that would get your attention," Keeling gave an evil smile as Teagan's screams continued to pour from the device.

"What the fuck are you doing to her?" he pounded his fist against the metal.

Keeling shook his head as if disappointed.

"After having been gone for so long, I'm just having to remind her who is in charge around here. She's been _very_ stubborn since coming home."

"This isn't a _home_ , you asshole!"

"This is going to be the only home she ever knows again," Keeling stepped towards his cell. Sam wished that he could fit his hand through the hole and punch him in the face. "And if she doesn't start cooperating soon, it will become her grave."

Sam felt his heart stop for all of a second. That was how long it took for him to realize that he was lying.

Shaking his head, "You need her too much to kill her. From your bragging back in medical, I know that much."

"I see your brain hasn't turned to mush," Keeling waved his fingers to dismiss the guard who had been standing off to the side listening to their exchange. "So for the time being, I'm going to leave this," he pointed over his shoulder to the speaker, "here for you to listen to. Every day, you're going to listen to Teagan's sessions in the training room."

Another piercing scream came over the speaker, with its counterpart lowly echoing from down the hallway too. Faintly in the background, he heard the sound of a male voice chuckling over the speaker, amused by the pain he was causing her.

"I've had to move on to using electro-shock on her to get any type of emotion out of her."

Sam dropped his forehead to the cold metal as his fist weakly gave another hit. Keeling had no reason to physically torture him so he instead had to do it mentally.

"I could hear you calling out to her, but you sounded unsure if you were really hearing her muffled screams. This is to help you out so that you _do_ know it's her."

Hearing Keeling laughing as he walked away, Sam slid down to his knees as the loud screams of pain reverberated off his cell walls. He had in fact been able to make the excuse that the distant sounds were not actually Teagan, but now…there was way to deny it.

"Teagan, I'm so sorry," he whispered aloud.

* * *

_Why wouldn't he just kill her?_

She had been holding out for so long, hoping that Keeling would realize that she would be useless to him and Hydra.

But she had once again just woken up in her cell, lying on the cold concrete floor. They hadn't even bothered to dump her on the bed.

When they had first started sticking the things on her body, she knew that something was going to be different. And it had not taken long for the shocks to grow to a point where she couldn't hold in her screams anymore. It had been easy to do so with the beatings. In fact, she'd looked forward to them just so she could laugh at Keeling. If she could piss him off enough, then maybe he'd finally end her life.

Instead, he had just changed to something new.

Trying to stand, she found her muscles would not obey. Her entire body felt like it was lying in cold water more than on a solid floor.

Rolling over, she found there was just enough chain to. Keeling might have given her enough to use the bed, if only she could make her legs push her body up onto it.

She was determined to not give into him. Death was a much better alternative.

No more Keeling, no more Hydra, being back with Sam.

Yes, she just had to figure out how to get Keeling to kill her so she could once again be with Sam.

* * *

**Hydra Base  
Days Later**

Placing his back to the door, Sam slid down to the floor to begin his daily cursing at the situation they were both in.

Since the speaker had been placed outside of his cell, the small eye-level window's door had always been open for him to look out of. Not that there was anything to see but cell doors across the hallway from him. No, instead it was because Keeling wanted to make sure that his torture of Teagan's screams were not hindered in any way.

Every day, at what he considered random times, the speaker would turn on and he'd have to endure hours of listening to Teagan being tortured. There were a lot of muffled screams without any accompanying sound, similar to that first day with Keeling, so Sam could only assumed that she was being put through more shock torture.

But then there were the other numerous times when there was the unmistakable sound of fists to flesh. He was having her beaten, trying to break her down, physically.

Even worse were the times that Keeling would enter whatever room Teagan was in and begin to talk to her. The first couple of times, Keeling would say something to indicate that he remembered that Sam was being forced to listen. But after some time, it was as if he'd forgotten about Sam, focusing only on Teagan.

The strange part was that she had never responded once to his sickening words. Ones which spoke of obeying him, breaking her spirit, working for Hydra,…letting him touch her without struggling. Why did she never once respond? Was he slowly breaking her down so that she believed his words? Her screams were muffled by the gag he knew had been put on her, but she never argued or denied with him.

After finding himself growing slightly madder at the beginning of each session, Sam tried to not actively think about what Teagan was going through. He knew that it was slowly driving him insane. And if he ever got out of here, he would make Keeling pay for what he was doing to her.

Since arriving on this level, weeks had gone by, he was at least sure of that one fact. _Maybe_ four by his tracking. The meals he was given all consisted of the same type of elementary school standard food. Single servings from the food pyramid with a cardboard pint of milk. He was sure they were feeding him twice a day but he couldn't distinguish between lunch and dinner. The lower door was only opened while the food tray was being passed. Only sleeping made the actual time pass between the numerous hours with nothing to do.

All he could do was sit here and listen to another day of torture while he waited for his next meal…

* * *

Watching the agent once again hooking Teagan up to the chains to hold her in place for another couple of hours of torture did not bring the enjoyment it had upon her return here. Too many weeks with no results had passed for his liking. Henry Bradshaw was starting to breathe down his neck, complaining that he needed her back to work, and that was unacceptable. Even with the addition of the electro-shock, she was still resisting him.

Marcus waited until the agent had the overhead chains attached to her arm binder before stepping over to Teagan. Signaling to the guard to leave them, he took a few moments to decide his next actions. So far, nothing he was trying seemed to have the effect of bring her under control once again.

Since he had the speaker placed outside of Falcon's cell, he'd given up on isolating Teagan in her cell. It had not seemed to make a difference to her anyways. Instead, she was brought into the training room and tortured for hours, shocked, whipped, beaten, and yet for some reason she had not yet given in to him.

Why?

Was she still holding out hope for some kind of rescue from her deceased friends? He was sure that was what she believed had happened to all of them.

Her body was bruised all over, red burn patches from previous days' shock sessions. The only change was now she screamed in pain and fought as the guards brought her into here each day. But still, when he held her like he used to, the actions that she knew would show _him_ as being in charge…that was where she still defied him.

There was something going on in her mind that he needed to break. One final barrier that was holding her.

Thinking back to how he had finally managed to break her years ago, he considered if he just needed to take that final step with her again. To claim her body with his own to prove that he had total control over her. Maybe she didn't think him strong enough anymore to do so, that he had become weak while she had been away. Could that be why she had so far managed to hold out?

Placing his cane on the medical table, he carefully walked over to stand before her.

Her panting was already heavy in anticipation of today session while still being restricted by the gag and nose tube. There had been many times when she had passed out due to lack of oxygen during a session.

Deciding that she needed to know that he was here, Marcus drew his arm back and powerfully slapped her against the side of her face.

Moments after the startled cry she gave, he waited to see how she would respond. Seconds later, Teagan surprised him by actually screaming out angrily at him for the deed.

Marcus smiled.

"Today is the day that I finally break you," he told her as he seized her around the throat. Slowly, he began to tighten his hold, his fingers digging into the soft leather that surrounded her neck. He knew how easy it would be to snap her neck…but she was much too valuable.

Hanging from the ceiling chain, all she could do was partially flail her body side-to-side trying to find a release from his grasp.

"There's nowhere to go."

With his other hand, he grasped her shoulder and turned her around to face the wall. With her back now to him, Marcus reached across in front of her and let his hand wander over her breasts. The simple touch elicited the scream that he had been wanting to hear, a much more intense one than even the punishments had brought out from her. She knew what was coming.

Her struggling multiplied without causing him a seconds hesitation. Sliding the tube top down, she whined as his fingers took a hold of a nipple and began to tug at it. Steadily increasing his strength, he began to painfully twist it, causing a lovely scream.

With his face resting up against hers, he cruelly told her covered ear, "You know what is coming next, don't you?"

Letting one hand slip down her abdomen, he tightened the other's grip on her neck to choke her even more when she twisted her hips to the side to deny him access to her body.

"You will not deny my touch, not anymore," he told her as he roughly gave a punch to her gut as punishment. The movement slammed her ass hard against his firming cock. "Hydra's waiting on me to break you and I'm through being patient and coddling you. It's time you remember who's in charge and what that means."

Marcus shoved his hand between her legs, pulling the tube skirt up and out of his way in a single practiced motion.

"I've waited far too long to take from you what should be mine."

* * *

_"You know what is coming next, don't you?"_

"Oh, please no," Sam muttered as he listened to the chilling words and sounds coming from the speaker.

Was Keeling actually planning to do what he believed him to be? Was the bastard about to rape Teagan?

_"You will not deny my touch, not anymore. Hydra's waiting on me to break you and I'm through being patient and coddling you. It's time you remember who's in charge and what that means."_

Sam knew rationally that Keeling was sexually abusing her, but his mind did not want to actually register that fact. Without seeing it, he tried to trick his mind into picturing anything else happening to Teagan. There was nothing the he could do to stop the terrible deed, and there was no doubt that it would break him also if he had to listen to it happening.

"Teagan," he whispered her name, "I'm so sorry I can't help you."

_"I've waited far too long to take from you what should be mine."_

He was sitting against the door trying to drown out Teagan's broken screams as he heard a familiar movement in the hallway. Another meal was being delivered. Quickly, his mind told him that this would be the only time that he could act. That he had to try anything to get Keeling out of that room with Teagan.

When the small narrow door opened, without really caring about the consequences as long as he was able to somehow stop Keeling, Sam grabbed onto the gloved hand barely visible that was holding the tray.

Pulling it inside of the cell, he bent the arm backwards into a painful direction, the guard's elbow being pressed into the metal.

"Open this door!" he demanded in a roaring scream.

"I can't! I don't have access!" the weak male voice told him. Twisting the arm further over to produce more pain, the guard screamed out for help to an empty hall. "Help me! Stop! I swear I don't know the code! Only Keeling can open it!"

"You're lying!" he screamed at him, applying more pressure.

Between his crying of pain, the man pleased, "I swear, I'm not!"

Bending his arm back even further, Sam listed as his screams of pain echoed down the hallway. Maybe it would be enough to get Keeling's attention away from Teagan.

* * *

Marcus was finding it harder to hold onto Teagan while he tried to release himself from his pants. This time, her continued struggling told him she knew what he was planning and she was not going to give in so easily.

Finally letting her throat go so that he could undo his belt, Marcus felt her pull away from his body…well, as much as she could while being chained up. Working on his pants, he watched as Teagan's body jerked back and forth, as if trying to prevent invisible hands from touching her. She began to slightly turn in place as he finally managed to drop his pants and briefs to the floor.

Reaching out, he latched onto her exposed breast, intending to use it to turn her back around away from him.

But upon feeling him touch her, Teagan's body fully turned, her leg swinging out in a vicious kick that impacted onto the center of his chest. The unexpected strike with his physically weakened stance caused him to fall backwards so that his body was painfully shoved against the medical examination table. It began to roll backwards, offering no support to keep him upright, letting him fall to the floor with a thud.

"You bitch!" he shouted while looking up at her, knowing that she couldn't hear him.

As he laid there, his leg and hip throbbing in pain as he'd landed on his injured side, the sounds of screams came from somewhere outside of the training room, and he could tell that they belonged to a male. Seconds later, two guards were standing at the doorway, surveying over the scene of him lying on the ground half-naked while Teagan's private body parts were exposed. There was no way for them to mistake what had almost been about to happen.

There was another scream and the guards turned to look away to where it was coming from. One of the guards ran to find out the cause of it.

There was only one other prisoner here, and Marcus had no doubts that it was either Falcon or being caused by him. He had been so determined to break Teagan that he had forgotten about his order to have the intercom turned on the moment she was brought into the room. He had heard everything that had happened in here and it seemed that he was trying his best to at least get Marcus' attention.

Grabbing his pants, Marcus managed to rise and pull his clothing back up and secure them.

"You broke a rule," he told her tucking himself back inside his pants, but he needed to find out what was going on in the prisoner's cell area. He gave a full-strength punch towards her face, knowing it had been enough to knock her unconscious as her head fell forward to rest on her chest. "I'll deal with you soon enough."

Pushing his way past the observing guard, he harshly commanded, "Put her back in her cell and tranquilizer her if she wakes up while being moved."

* * *

The guards were arguing with each other as to how to proceed when Sam finally heard him. They were worried about breaking or injuring their compatriot's arm if they tried to pull him loose.

"That's enough!" a thunderous voice boomed throughout the hallway.

Knowing that his time was up, Sam gave the final turn the elbow needed so that he heard the sound of its joint dislodging before he finally released it. The guard's screams died out as he heard a thump on the floor outside. Glancing through the small window, Sam saw that the guard had passed out from the pain. He was wearing head to toe black clothing. Considering the sound of his voice, Sam figured that he was probably in his early twenties.

"Enjoy yourself?" Keeling asked coming to a stop right outside his cell. Poking the boy on the side of his head with the cane, he finally nudged him awake. "Get him out of here!"

Crawling a few feet, he finally managed to stumble up to his feet before scurrying down the hallway with the help of the other guards.

"So what did that accomplish?"

"What the hell do you think you are doing to her?" Sam demanded in a scream. The sounds of her protests had suddenly stopped with Keeling being here. "Don't you fucking ever touch Teagan again, you bastard!"

"Do you really believe that you are in _any_ position to demand anything of me?" Keeling harshly pointed out to him. "You should be more worried about what's going to happen to you now for not being a good prisoner. Teagan has already sealed her own fate."

Hearing the tapping of his cane as he walked away, Sam began to yell, "What the hell does that mean? Keeling? Keeling!?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so it's time for this Hydra holiday to come to a dramatic conclusion. Think you have an idea as to what is going to happen? Well, I hope that my twisted little mind is able to give you such a shock in the next chapter that you'll be screaming at your computer, in shock and awe. I'd love to hear what you think so far and what you guess might happen. If you've been paying attention, you'll remember the rule that Teagan just broke, and the punishment behind it. How worried are you compared to Teagan? If you were in her shoes, what would you agree to do to prevent Keeling from not following through on his threat?


	34. The Interrogation Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is a long chapter, but there was no good way to break up these scenes. I hope that it will have you on the edge of your seat while finally having a partial resolution to our heroes' plights.

**Hydra Base**  
A Short Time Later  


Teagan felt herself waking up once again wondering where she was this time, in her cell or in the training room. She had been dreaming… _her and Sam were at the beach_ … but anything before then was a bit of a blur. All she wanted was to get back to the wonderful dreams…the only place Sam now waited for her.

Feeling a slight burning sensation on the side of her face that painfully hurt for some reason, it reminded her of the many times that Keeling had punched her. Had he done so again? He usually only punched her that had as a punishment when she'd really made him mad.

But what could she have done to earn a punishment? She had to remember what had happened. Concentrating, she slowly began to recall earlier...

They had taken her to the training room again. She had been strung up like normal. The guard had then gone away. Then had come the hands…Keeling's hands. Holding her, hitting her, touching her, pulling her scraps of fabric out of the way so that he could violate her…

That was when she…

Kicked Keeling.

No!

 _Oh, God, she had broken the rule_!

Screaming out, she still heard nothing. But nobody was touching her. Was Keeling gone? How long had she been unconscious?

Taking stock of her body, she patted her bare feet onto the concrete floor under her.

Her feet! That meant that he hadn't cut them off yet!

Years ago, after the very first time he had raped her, she had struck out at him in anger at what he had done. She had managed to kick him in the very leg where the shrapnel had injured him, causing him even more pain. He had beaten her that time, almost managing to knock her unconscious but he knew how to prolong her suffering while keeping her awake.

As she had hung there, gagged and bloodied, he had informed her of the new rule: Kick him ever again and her feet would be cut off at the ankles. He pointed out that they could move her between bases just as easily in a wheelchair while strapped down as they could with her walking while bound.

From that point forward, knowing that he honestly meant the threat, she had never again attempted to kick at him. But after so long and knowing what Keeling had been about to do to her, she had not been thinking clearly. All that she could think of was to fight him, just like she had been doing. Knowing that is what Sam would have wanted her to do.

What had she done?

Gotten herself into trouble for nothing. She was never leaving here again. And it seemed that no matter what she did, Keeling was not going to kill her.

Now, any bravery that she'd had earlier was gone. She had taken her fighting too far and she was about to pay the price for doing so.

How long had he kept her here? There had been so many tortures and dreams that she knew a very long time had passed. Dreams like the ones where people fought back against those who tried to hurt others, as Sam used to do before becoming _safe from harm_ …she hated using that other word. And she wanted to be one of them.

Free, where nobody could hurt her again.

The last dream she'd had, based on her memories of Sam, had been just that. It had been so wonderful to see the sky once again, to feel the rain on her skin, to have someone hold her.

So when she had woken up from it, for some damn reason, she had decided to fight back against Keeling. And when he had begun to touch her, knowing he would rape her once again, it had been so easy to fight back.

Why the hell had she done that? All because of a figment who came to her in numerous dreams? Why had her mind continued to torment her with Sam, someone who encouraged her to fight? He was gone and she was all alone now. She should have just given up long ago. There was no way Keeling would kill her. He wanted to use her just like he had, to gain status inside of Hydra. She could have saved herself from so much torture if she had just agreed to work for him again. The tears welled up in her darkened eyes as she berated herself for her foolish, useless bravery.

She was still crying a long while later when the sudden blast of water hit her. The stinging of the cold liquid on her skin was more from the cut marks she knew had to exist from the whippings done to her.

Trying to turn away from the cold deluge, she knew that something bad was coming. There were only a few reasons that Keeling would ever have her cleaned up. This time she was sure that it was so she could be taken to medical. The only other option would be traveling to another base but she knew that was definitely not the case right now. Not when she refused to obey him.

And she had made him angry.

Once the water turned off, she stood there waiting to see what happened to her next. It wasn't long before she felt the cloth touch her bare skin. He was having her re-dressed. He only did that when she was leaving the cell and not being taken to the training room. Did that mean that he was actually going to have her taken up to medical? Would he really go through with a threat from years ago?

She had worn this type of garment numerous times. Keeling had it made so that it could be put on her without her arms being removed from the restraints until he was ready to do so. It wrapped around her and had two shoulder straps that snapped into place behind her, while the back tied secure like an apron. The hem barely reached down to her knees and it was made of a scratchy material because of course he wouldn't give her the slightest comfort.

When the hands finished pressing the grommets into place to hold the outfit up, she was once again left wondering what was happening. Then she felt the feeding tube in her nose being pulled out as it was being removed. The burning sensation it left in her nostril made it hard to breathe. Wouldn't they need that if they were performing an operation on her? More minutes of nothingness passed as she waited for the new round of torture to begin.

Suddenly, pressure on the sides of her head told her that someone was messing with the hood that was keeping her in the dark. She could only hope that they were finally removing it. But instead of her vision returning, she realized that she was able to hear sounds once again. Whatever had been keeping her from hearing was finally gone. Keeling had not done something to damage her ears, only temporarily stopped her hearing. Since returning to this base, she had just assumed that her ears had been damaged during her capture, making her deaf. She'd not considered that Keeling had used something on the hood to do that to her.

Footsteps with an accompanying tapping sound began to circle around her. The shuffling of the heavy feet with the irregular gait told her instantly that Keeling was in her cell. It had been so long since she'd heard him walking but it brought back all of the terrifying memories that would accompany his presence.

"You broke the rule."

Her breath hitched in her chest as her heart began to pound so furiously that she though it would explode. He remembered the rule! He _was_ going to cut her feet off!

She began to beg for forgiveness from behind the gag, knowing that even with the muffled words that he would understand what she was doing.

"Don't bother begging."

Her throat tightened as her eyes were once again watering. What had she done? There was no way to stop the sobbing which began to rack her body. Not an ounce of bravery still remained in her. Shaking her head, she pleaded again with him, hoping that this one time he would show some form of mercy to her.

"Do you remember the punishment for kicking me? I hope so since I don't repeat myself."

There was nothing to do but nod that she in fact did.

"Then why did you break the rule?"

There was no answer to give, even if the gag hadn't been in her mouth, so she just lowered and shook her head.

"I had a guard all ready to head to medical to inform them to prepare for the procedure…"

She brought her lower legs together, twisting them so they seemed as small as possible.

Too long of moments began to pass in silence.

"But then an opportunity presented itself to me."

What did he mean? Had he decided on another way to punish her?

"You are to be given this one chance to compensate for the suffering that you inflicted on me."

She found his use of the terminology for a simple kick compared to all that he had done to her hilarious but she knew better than to laugh aloud this time.

"I am done with coddling you through this defiant streak of yours," she could hear the tapping of his cane as he circled her. These tortures were coddling? "It is time for you to do as you are commanded, without hesitation, and with perfect obedience."

His footsteps stopped directly in front of her.

"Waiting in the interrogation room is another prisoner. You will be brought before him to use your powers on. At that time, I will instruct you to read the exact command that has been prepared to use on him. You have this one chance to do as I order, or a more severe, permanent repercussion will be faced."

He then tapped the side of her leg near her ankle so that she understood his implication. Did that mean that he was not going to send her straight to medical for kicking him? All she had to do was test the loyalty of some Hydra agent or find out some secret from this person? To keep her body in tact, she would gratefully comply.

Then came a sudden idea to her.

This might actually give her a way out of all of this…permanently.

If he followed the same protocol as before, they would have the agent strapped down with the gun in his hand. She would easily be able to tell him to shoot her in the head. There would not be enough time for Keeling to stop her from doing so.

"One chance to obey. Do you understand?"

She began to furiously nod in agreement. This was her chance to be free of Keeling and Hydra.

Her mind flashed back to the memory of when she had told Sam about how she had figured out a way to end her life. There had been the most beautiful sunset as he had held her in his arms. And now, she would be able to take that last step and join him there again.

Would Sam be mad at her for giving up so easily, or would he understand that she just couldn't live under Keeling's thumb again? It was either that or face more countless years at the hands of this madman. Hydra had her once again and she knew that no simple twist of fate would remove her from this captivity again. She was here until she died.

She just intended to make it happen today.

The tapping sound and shuffling of feet began to fade as numerous hands began to release her arms from inside of the metal restraint. They had been up behind her back for so long that she no longer had any feeling in them. Once the blood had a chance to begin circulating they would become intensely painful. That was what used to happen. Teagan also knew that from all the clawing at the device that she was missing a couple of fingernails. Would her fingers start to throb once the blood rushed to them?

But once her arms were hanging down, she noticed that neither her shoulders or arms were in any type of pain. She had been trying to brace herself for the stinging pain, which as moments dragged on, did not seem were going to happen. Flexing her fingers and arms, there was not a trace of pain. Did it have something to do with the injections from back in Wakanda? That was the only thing that she could think of.

Her wrists had been bound in front of her in what she guessed were handcuffs by the ratcheting sound they made. Except for the simple outfit, they were the only things on her body as she was led from her cell. Even with her legs being weak from not having enough energy, she made her best effort to walk on her own as much as she could.

After knowing what had almost happened to her, there was no way she was going to upset Keeling any more.

She had to obey him until that gun went off.

Walking down the hallway, the familiar count of the number of steps told her that they were outside of the interrogation room. Hearing the squeak from the hinge was almost comforting considering it could have been the elevator's beep to take her to medical.

A couple of steps inside, she was roughly pushed down to sit in the uncomfortable chair that she knew too well. The cuffs were released so that she could be positioned across the small table from the other prisoner. She could hear a strange noise, as if he was struggling against his own restraints. There was a muffled noise as if he were also gagged while complaining of the situation, maybe begging for release. But she knew after so many times that it was pointless to do so.

Her left arm was placed upon the metal arm of the chair so that the leather straps could be secured around her wrist and upper arm. Another strap went around her neck, preventing her from moving her head too much so that she couldn't break eye contact during interrogations. Her legs were also secured at her ankles so that she couldn't kick the prisoner from under the table.

It was her right arm that told her the other prisoner was not there willingly, not that they usually were. As it was laid across the table, two straps on her lower arm were secured, but not before she had her hand wrapped around the prisoner's forearm. The wrist-strap net was made so that it ran across the back of her hand to the other side of his arm so that it held her hand down atop of his. It was secured to the table so that she couldn't break skin contact even if she wanted to. She knew that he was restrained in the chair across from her in a very similar position. They always were.

"In front of you is the prisoner. On the note card lying on the table is the exact instructions that you will command for him to obey. There will be permanent repercussions for disobeying me," Keeling calmly stated as she heard him moving behind her. She almost wanted to point out that he had just repeated himself, but then she considered that if he had there must be a reason.

Feeling him touching the back of her neck, she began to realize that he was removing the hood. He was not going to take the chance that just removing the gag or blindfold would hinder her speech or gaze. The next minutes as she felt his fingers working on loosening it from around her face were some of the longest she felt in a while.

Just knowing that the darkness was leaving was almost worth letting Keeling think that she was going to obey him.

Finally the item was pulled from off of her, and she heard the items land on the table nearby. Even with her eyes closed she could see the brightness that had been kept from her. Slowly she opened her eyes to find that her vision was blurry and wincing at the brightness surrounding her.

Across from her was a prisoner in an orange jumpsuit, the kind that Keeling usually had them wear. His arms were strapped down just like she was, trapping him here too. But over his head was a black bag, keeping her from seeing his actual identity just yet. Glancing down, she saw her hand lying atop his skin…his dark skin.

Something horrible nudged at the back of her mind.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Keeling asked her so she looked over at where he stood off to the left of the other prisoner.

Blinking her eyes numerous times, she tried to get them to focus on the blurry image of his hand, but all she could do was shake her head.

"I'm not sure, maybe two," she responded while trying to focus on his fingers, hoping that he didn't punish her if she got it wrong. Her voice almost hurt after being used for the first time in so long. Her mouth was parched but there was no way she would ask for water. It shouldn't matter anyways in a little while.

That was when she noticed that the prisoner's other arm looked to be secured to the chair. If it was, then he was not going to be given a gun like she had hoped.

Glancing around the room, she saw that the three of them were alone, no other guards were there. Keeling glared at her but nodded in understanding.

"I suspected as much with the hood having been left on for so long. So instead, let's use this time to give the two of you a chance to have a talk," he informed her.

Reaching over, the black bag was quickly pulled up to reveal the prisoner's face…

It was a familiar sight, but it was in the wrong place. She knew that it should not be at this base. Only safe in her dreams is where he should be, but now…

Sam was staring across the table at her!

Sam's eyes filled with happiness at seeing her, but across his mouth was a gag, preventing him from talking or giving any type of warning as to who he had been with the hood.

All of the muscles in her body eased for the first time _since coming back here_ at just seeing Sam's face and knowing that he was alive. Sam was here and alive. She had been so sure that Hydra had killed him… _so long ago_. Over and over during her waking hours all that she could see was him falling, lying broken on the ground as his body became an empty husk. Then those thoughts mixed with her dreams of him, knowing he was safe from ever being hurt again.

_He was alive…_

Sam's eyes were warm, tears forming at the edges at seeing her.

And Teagan physically felt the only light left in her soul begin to brighten before it started to shatter.

The dream world where Sam was safe from Keeling began to crash down into this horrible reality.

Here Sam was, alive…sitting right in front of her…bound to the table…with Keeling standing next to him…inside of the Hydra base…

Her mind was racing, trying to force her to accept that Sam being here alive was _not_ a _good_ thing.

Sam was Hydra's prisoner! Sam needed to not be here! He was not safe at all!

That was when all of her muscles began to contract, her entire body stiffening up as she began to violently shake.

Closing her eyes and trying to throw her head back, the horrible cry that was ripped from her lips echoed in the small concrete room.

This was more than she could take. If it had only been more punishments, more rapes, more darkness, that she could handle by just letting her mind fade away again.

But seeing Sam here…alive… _not safe_ …Keeling's prisoner…

"Sam! No! You can't be here!" she wailed as she began to burn with anger while her mind filled with fears as to what was next.

* * *

Sam could almost feel a physical pain inside of him at Teagan's cry of anguish at seeing him alive. There had been a joyful expression at first seeing him, of knowing that he had actually survived the fall. Then he could tell that her mind actually worked out that he was a prisoner here, just like she was.

Glancing over the exposed skin of her body, Sam could see numerous indications that her time under Keeling's possession had not been the same as his. Unlike him having being ignored, he could see that Keeling had taken numerous steps to try and break Teagan into doing his bidding once again.

Her face bore the marks of the beatings that had Keeling had inflicted on her. Both of her cheeks showed faint tints to healing bruises, but her left cheek showed a fresh redness that told Sam Teagan had been recently hit. Maybe just before being brought into here.

From her shoulders down to behind the cloth of the covering she wore, there were rainbow colored bruising ranging from faint yellow to deep purple and blue which told him that some were old while others looked to have just recently happened. Every so often, Sam could also see thin cut marks, some fresh, some healed. His mind instantly thought of what marks a whip of some kind would leave on a body.

There were numerous small red patches over partially exposed chest area. He couldn't even guess as to what had made them but he was sure they were from the silent torture that made her screams echo the halls.

Glancing down his stomach lurched as he saw that she was missing three fingernails just from only her right hand. There was dried blood over her hands and running streaks over her arms. Knowing how Keeling had her bound, Sam hated to consider that Teagan had probably done that injury to herself. She had been clawing at the arm restraint the entire time they had been here.

Sam was almost sure now that if given the chance, that the entirety of Teagan's body would show the cruelty of tortures heaped onto her. There was no telling what else that bastard had done to her during the time they had been apart.

What other despicable abuses had he subjected her to?

* * *

Keeling's maniacal taunting voice pulled her mind back from the scream of pain that had consumed her.

_Sam was not safe!_

"I would have thought you would be _happy_ to learn that your boyfriend survived the fall," Keeling began to circle the table, the walking stick in his hand tapping on the floor. "All this time you had suspected him to be dead, just like his friends are. You should be thanking me for keeping him alive."

"Sam! You have to get out of here!" she began to struggle in her chair, pulling at the straps holding her captive.

That was when Sam's eyes caught her as he began to calmly shake his head. What did that mean…no? He didn't want to get out of here? No…he _couldn't_ get out of here! She knew that. If Keeling could keep her here when she had powers, then there was no chance for Sam to get to safety. He was stuck her under Keeling's control just like she was. And he had been for so long without her even knowing.

All this time, she had thought him safe in death, while instead he was just another prisoner of Keeling.

"Sam, you have to leave! You can't be here!"

"But he _is_ here," Keeling had made almost a full circle around the table and them.

Her chest was becoming too tight, even without knowing what was coming.

"No, no. You can't be here, only me, only me," her voice cracked as she pleaded with him, her eyes began to burn. "You have to get out of here. You have to be safe."

"There's nowhere he can go…at least not until you use your powers on him."

That comment was the only thing that could draw her eyes from Sam to Keeling. There was a smugness in his glare that she had seen only a couple of times, when he knew that he had won at something. What did he mean about her using her powers on Sam? She would never do that.

"Once you have turned him into a loyal Hydra subject, he will be welcomed into our ranks with open arms."

Hearing that abhorrent sentence being spoken by Keeling drained all of her blood, leaving her body frozen in a cold state.

 _Turn Sam into Hydra?_ There was no way in bloody fecking hell that she would ever do that!

Her head finally began to slowly move, shaking in disagreement at what he was requesting of her.

Finding the note card lying on the table where she could see it, Teagan glanced over the words while not really reading them. Loyalty to Hydra…follow only Keeling's orders…never try to leave.

Looking over at where Keeling was standing, his expression told her that he knew that he would win this.

"Hell no! I won't do that to him, you bloody bollix! Don't ya' fecking ask that of me," she angrily spit out as tears began to fill her eyes once again. For so long she had been crying that she couldn't believe that she had any more to shed.

Reaching across the table with his cane, Keeling placed the metal Hydra tip under her chin and forced her head up so that she faced him. There was an anger beginning to boil in him, one that told her that she would pay for her words later on with more pain.

Keeling stood glaring down at her, "I don't think you understand the severity of the situation that you find yourselves in. You either do as I command, or everything I have done to you so far will be _nothing_ compared to what you will experience next."

He jabbed the tip into her throat before returning it to his side as he again began to circle them.

She could see the hurt in Sam's eyes, hearing that she would be tortured even more, and knowing that he would want her safe. No matter the cost.

Sam slowly began to nod his head in agreement. From behind the muffling gag, she could barely make out his words of, "Do it." He was telling her to do as Keeling commanded, to turn him into Hydra to save herself. He didn't blame her for what Keeling wanted her to do. He could see some of what had been done to her, the tortures she'd endured since being returned to here.

"But _you will_ hurt me," she then angrily pointed out to Keeling. "The _minute_ Sam is Hydra, you are going to lock me _back up_ in that cell _again_. You are going to abuse me and rape me, just like you _always_ did. My obedience to you will not stop _a single act_ of torture from being performed on me. I'll not _hurt_ _or lose_ Sam just to stop that from happening."

"I think that it would be in everyone's best interest if you reconsider your words and decide to obey me," Keeling's menacing, cold voice

Closing her eyes, she felt the tears begin to run down her cheeks. She would keep Sam safe at any cost. Even if it meant more tortures for her.

"Never!"

"Such a shame," Keeling's voice broke a part of her before she saw him moving from the corner of her vision to stand next to Sam. Glancing at him, she watched in horror as he pulled a gun from his coat's pocket. "You had one chance and you've wasted it."

With that, Keeling lifted the weapon so that it was pressed against Sam's temple so hard that his head leaned to the side. His neck was secured to the bar of the high back chair so that there was no way for him to dodge the bullet.

Now she understood what Keeling had meant be repercussions. They weren't for her, they were for Sam!

_If she didn't agree to turn Sam into a Hydra agent, then not only would she truly loose him, but it would be her fault!_

A few seconds passed by as the three of all held their breaths, waiting to see who between the two of them was going to flinch first.

It was Keeling who finally had enough.

Forming a sadistic smile that ran a chill down her spine, he simply said, "Too bad," as his thumb pulled back on the hammer to lock it into place.

Hearing the click, Sam squeezed his own eyes shut, knowing he was about to die.

_No! She couldn't lose him, not again! Not like this! She had to make Sam safe!_

Every muscle tensed up at the anger of Keeling threatening Sam and her not being able to do a thing about it. Her entire body then felt a warm surge of power sweep through it. A burning to her very core.

All that she knew was that Sam had to be made safe and for that to happen that she needed to make Keeling…

" _STOP_!" she put the full might and conviction of her entire soul into the screaming of that single word at Keeling who was maliciously scrutinizing her.

Heartbeats began to pass without Keeling taking the final action of pulling the trigger. As she sat there with her gaze locked on Keeling's, his eyes began to grow wider and wider.

Something troubled him. He became ashen, scared from the simple word.

Finally Keeling spoke to her, his voice full of a fear that she had _never_ heard before from anyone, saying, "What have you done to me?"

Her gasps for air were deep and loud as she glared daggers at the man still holding the gun to Sam's head. She had felt the familiarity of her powers from inside coming to the surface once again. But there was some kind of change in it that she could feel, just like the last time her powers had evolved. It took her a couple of moments to think about what had just happened before she realized the truth of the situation.

Even without touching Keeling, and only using her glare and voice, he was now under her command.

He _had_ to _obey_ her. The simple command of 'stop' and forced his body to become immobile.

Teagan gave a sigh of relief as she knew that she could now make Sam safe.

" _Remove the gun from his head_ ," she resolutely commanded him, her eyes never leaving his.

Keeling's arm calmly went back to rest at his side, the gun now pointed to the floor.

" _How_ are you doing this?" his voice was growing angry.

" _Do not speak again_ ," she told him. Keeling's open mouth snapped shut before he could utter his next word. " _Do not look away from me. Put the gun on the table, remove the gag from Sam's mouth, and then release him from the chair_."

She heard his cane hit the floor to free up his hands to do her bidding.

"Teagan, what…how…?" Sam's voice was filled with curiosity at the strange occurrence once he could speak.

But as Keeling began to remove the straps, Sam realized that this was his chance. With one hand now begin free, he began to remove the strap holding her hand atop of his. The moment he was free, Sam ran around the table and started removing the straps holding her there.

" _Go stand against the wall. Do not move from that spot_ ," she told Keeling and he instantly obeyed, his eyes wide with fear. How she liked seeing it there…

"Teagan, we need to get out of here," Sam told her as he helped her to stand up.

Finally taking a moment to look over at him, she felt her entire body want to collapse into his. Sam must had felt it too as his arms pulled her tightly to his chest. Eventually, his lips managed to find hers as they kissed, not caring that Keeling was angrily glaring at them.

"You're alive," she then realized her thoughts were jumbled with questions.

"Thanks to you," he said smiling at her.

"No…I mean, I saw you fall. All this time, I thought you had died."

Sam smiled at her as he shook his head.

"I was in the cell down that other hall from you this entire time. I kept yelling for you, but Keeling told me just before you were brought in that that damn hood prevented you from hearing me. That's why he gagged me, so we could not communicate."

"Did Steve and Natasha make it out of the base?" she had to know.

A sadness crept over his face, "I don't know. But they are resourceful. If anyone could survive an avalanche of stone, it would be the two of them. Teagan, we need to get out of here. Do you think that you can help us do that?"

"Maybe," she told him hating the feeling of moving away from him as she stepped closer to where Keeling was frozen in place. Focusing her attention, she commanded, " _Tell me what you believe has happened to me_."

"Your powers are a manifestation of a type of self-preservation. I managed to years ago to manipulate them to evolve even more. I believe that they have just evolved even further than we ever believed they could."

"So she no longer has to touch someone to command them, only look at them?" Sam asked from right behind her, but he didn't respond. Keeling didn't have to with Sam, only her.

" _If you had any idea that this would happen, you never would have pushed me the way that you did, would you_?" she asked him.

"Never. I needed to be able to absolutely dominate you."

"You sick bastard," Sam mumbled at him.

" _How many guards are currently on this level_?" she asked him.

"Today there are six with the interrogation happening. All of them wearing the standard full-coverage gear."

"We need them to at least remove their hoods so you can see their eyes, then you can use them to help get us out of here," Sam told her.

" _Do they know what I was supposed to be doing to Sam_?"

"Yes. They expect him to be Hydra when he leaves this room."

Sam took her hand into his, pulling her a few feet away from Keeling.

"We can use that against them. Keeling and I will send them in here without their hoods, one at a time and you can turn them to our side," he pointed out.

"And after that?" she asked hoping for more of a plan.

Sam shrugged his shoulders as he told her, "We step in the elevator and ride it up. Once we reach the surface, we find a pilot and have him fly us the hell out of here."

Turning her head, Teagan looked over at Keeling still waiting for another order from her. She wanted out of this hateful place just as much as Sam did, but there was no way that she could just leave here. Not knowing that Keeling and the other Hydra agents here would not pay for what they had done to her…especially the one currently before her.

Teagan needed to know that at least Sam was safe, then she could deal with the others. She would take this base down from the inside out. But she wouldn't risk his life with what she was about to do. Instead of disagreeing, she simply nodded her head. Sam would know soon enough what she truly intended to do to this place. She took a couple of steps towards Keeling.

" _From this point forward, you will never try to harm either of us again. You will not say or act different in any way that will alert anyone else that you are being controlled. Go out and bring one of the guards unhooded back in with you_ ," she commanded him.

Keeling instantly began to move, picking up his cane which he was now always with. Stepping out of the door, Sam stood just inside so that he could hear what was going on in the hallway. Seconds later, he moved back so that when the guard entered, he seemed to be casually standing. But he knew something was wrong when he turned his exposed head to see her also free.

" _Freeze_ ," she simply told him before he could call out. " _Go stand silently against that wall_."

He casually walked to where she had been pointing.

" _Go get another one_ ," she told Keeling.

With a final trip, they had all of this level's guards lined up on the wall, all of them now under her power. She gave the same order for them to only obey her or Sam, to be loyal followers of theirs and not Hydra, and to protect them with their lives.

"Teagan, that's not necessary," Sam told her when she was done, but she knew better.

"If we want to get out of here, yes, it is."

Sam looked a bit flustered, but he then turned to Keeling.

"Tell us how to get to a landing platform and find a pilot," he asked.

Since his orders now included obeying Sam, he told them.

They learned that they were eight levels underground, the second from the bottom. Medical was three levels above them. The hanger area where planes were stored was directly atop their location. The base itself was located on the south side of West Virginia, less than an hour down back roads from the nearest interstate highway. They were also less than six hours outside of Washington, DC, where Teagan had originally been found by Ross.

"We are that close to Washington," Sam mused. He then asked Keeling, "Is that why you were moving Teagan by truck during Project Insight? Because you were so close it was easier than flying her here?"

"No," Keeling's eyes narrowed in her direction. "I had the option of having her fly with me but chose something more unpleasant. The idea of her being painfully chained up for the long drive was more sexually arousing."

Hearing that, Sam didn't hold back his anger anymore. He took a hard swing at Keeling's gut, doubling him over as he coughed and tried to catch his breath.

"You sick bastard," Sam angrily ground out as Keeling eventually righted himself.

Seeing him in pain from the punch improved her spirits some, and told Teagan that her forming idea would feel even better.

" _How many are usually at this base_?" she asked him.

"Less than a hundred fifty."

" _Is there a way to lock down this base to keep them on their levels_?"

"Yes, but only the base commander, Henry Bradshaw, can do that."

"Then we need to get him down here," she continued to work up a plan in her head.

"No, Teagan, we don't," Sam said from next to her, his hand taking a hold of her upper arm. "We need to get you out of here, now."

There it was in his voice. He really did care for her, probably just as much as she did for him.

But she clearly felt the new broken cracks on her inside of her mind. Thanks to Keeling, she had just spent so long in the dark, thinking that Sam was dead, that she had lost him. It had taken her to a very dark place…one that she wanted to be in right now.

One that would help her make him and every other loyal Hydra person in the base suffer for what they had done to Sam and to her.

Placing her hand on Sam's neck, she pulled him in for a hard kiss, needing to feel his lips on her just one more time. When this was finally over, if she survived, there was no way that he would ever understand or forgive her for what she was about to do.

Teagan needed this one final moment before she lost him again.

Breaking apart while shaking her head, she knew that he needed to be safe for her to go through with her revenge. With what she was planning to do to every evil person on this base…Hydra would pay with all of their lives to keep Sam safe. He didn't need to have that kind of blood in his hands.

She, however, her soul was already dammed.

Taking a couple of paces away from him, she put just enough room between them so he couldn't stop her.

"No, _you_ are the one that needs to leave," she told him. Turning to two of the guards, she instructed them, " _You are to escort Sam all the way up to the hanger bay. Let nobody stop you. Protect him with your life. Kill anyone that tries to harm him_. _Take him somewhere safe nearby until he can find help. Give him anything that he request, but do not let him re-enter this base_."

"Teagan, what are you doing? What are you saying?" he barely managed to grab a hold of her arm, turning her to face him. That was when he saw the tears in her eyes. He then knew. "Don't do this. Please, come with me!"

But having been given a command, the two guards grabbed a hold of Sam's upper arms and started to drag him from the interrogation room to out in the hallway.

As he was forcefully dragged through the hallway towards the elevator, she tried to drown out the sound of him pleading with her to come with him.

But all she could do was stare at Keeling, her hate for him overriding her love for Sam.

Finally his voice was halted by the elevator doors shutting as it took Sam upwards to safety.

Wiping away the tears, Teagan made her voice become harsh as she scrutinized Keeling.

"I told you that one day I would kill you. And I'm sure that right now you are thinking that today is that day," she told him with her own malicious smile. "But as you said, an opportunity presented itself to me. One that I know you will _not_ enjoy."

Another command to him had the small group moving to Keeling's office and him typing away on his computer to make sure that Sam survived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There were some comments about wanting Steve and Nat to rescue them, but since I first thought of this story, I liked the idea of evolving Teagan's powers once again to where she was able to help free them. With her love for Sam, and seeing his life so threatened, I knew that it could easily be the catalyst for this to happen.
> 
> As for the next part of the story, she will be using her power to finally get the revenge she has been craving for the past (roughly) 14 years. There will be a twisted, possibly disturbing, way that Teagan will accomplish this. I hope that your sense of justice falls in line with me, eye for an eye, so that you appreciate what happens to Keeling. 
> 
> See you next Monday for the next upload.


	35. Keeling Is In Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are a couple of shocking items in this chapter. Be ye warned before reading.  
> My original edit did not save, so if you spot a grammar error or typo, please let me know so I can fix it.

**Interior of Hydra Base  
**

Sam gave up his fight of trying to free himself from his new bodyguards that were with him in the elevator. He knew there was no longer any point in trying to argue with them into disobeying Teagan's command. Her power over them was complete. The best that he could hope for was getting to the surface and then making a call to see if he could find any type of help.

When she had kissed him, he'd thought that it was a show of agreement to his suggestion of just getting out of there.

But when they had separated and he had been able to gaze into her eyes, Sam could visibly see them darkened with brokenness. Her hatred of Keeling was now her driving factor. He had put her through too much since coming here. Sam feared that the deprivation of all sensory inputs had moved her mind somewhere it couldn't escape entirely from.

When she had first seen him, it had taken her too long to understand what it meant with him being across from her. Pure anguish was the only way to describe the cry she had given. And then with Keeling threatening him moments after she just found out he was alive. She had been pushed to a new point where her powers had evolved once again.

And thanks to that, Sam was almost positive that he might be the only one to make it out of this base alive.

As they reached their first checkpoint just outside of the elevator doors, he was shocked to find that orders had been put into the security system stating that he was now under the control of Project Cherry Tree and he was allowed free access to the base. It seemed that enough information was on their screens so that none of the guards questioned it. Teagan must have made Keeling put that there after they had left…or maybe he had been so arrogant that he'd done it before taking him in for interrogation.

They continued on, passing through another checkpoint before they finally made it out into the large hanger area. The sun was high in the sky, which told him it must be around noontime, he just didn't know what timezone they were in.

Seeing that they were leading him towards the large open hanger door to the outside, Sam pointed out, "I need some kind of communications device, maybe a cell phone that cannot be traced. Actually, this isn't the time for hiding…if possible, make it one that _can_ be traced."

One of the guards veered over to a supply room as he and the other waited just outside. Thanks to the command given to them, neither one even tried to turn on him.

When the guard returned, in his hand was a smartphone, making him think of how Nat never gave one to Steve without a joke about making sure that he wasn't 'too old to understand to use it'. Waiting until they were outside and away from prying ears, Sam punched in the emergency contact number that Nat had made all of them memorize so long ago.

Sam could only hope that there was still someone on the other end to answer his call for help.

* * *

Marcus Keeling was a prisoner, locked inside of his own body as Teagan used her newfound powers to control him and the others. She had him now standing in the corner like a bad child as she dealt with other issues. He could only dread what would happen once she turned her attention back to him.

How had he not considered that by pushing her emotions to the breaking point, just like he had before, that her powers would mutate again? Because not a single scientist that had worked on her project years ago had even suggested that they could be taken this far, that's why.

Over the past few minutes, he had been disturbed by the different commands that Teagan forced him to obey. The first had been the authorization being entered into the system stating that Sam Wilson was now granted full command clearance which would give him full access to the base. If any other guard tried to stop them from getting him off of the base the would find the legitimate orders to allow them to do so.

The next thing that she had him do was call up to Henry Bradshaw and ask for him to come down so that he could be personally given an update on not only her but Falcon's supposed 'transformation' into Hydra. But the moment that Henry had stepped into his office, she had once again taken another as her captive. She'd ordered him to 'freeze', a single word command that rendered him immobile and mute. A simple word used from a children's game, planting the suggestion of what that word's meaning encompassed. From that point, she was able to then able to give more detailed instructions.

He'd seen the horror in Henry's expression as he helplessly stood there glaring at Teagan, free, in control, and with full access to the base with her new personal guards flanking her. But he noticed that unlike with the guards, she did not command him to be loyal to her, only to obey her commands.

Henry's computer access was then used so that she could watch Sam being escorted into a smaller building just outside of the hanger. The guards knew that it was a secondary security house that was built to be used as a fortification during an outside attack. It seemed that Falcon's guards considered it the location best suited to keep him safe as per her command.

Now, she was starting to look at the bigger picture of her revenge on all of them.

"I need some way to either contain or eliminate everyone located in this base," Teagan mused while glaring up at the taller Henry. "I'm guessing that you would know if there is. So tell me, _is there something like that_?"

Henry's face paled as he was compelled to answer, "Yes, there is a fail safe system."

" _Hydra has some way to...disable...everyone on this base?_ " he heard Teagan ask Henry with disdain in her voice.

"Yes. There is a device hooked into the ventilation system that has two gas canisters attached to it. One will knock everyone unconscious for up to five hours. The other will kill in under two minutes. I have the ability to secure each individual floor as I deem necessary, locking anyone on that level inside, and then releasing them only where I want to."

Teagan began to shake her head in disgust at hearing that.

" _Why are you set up to kill your own people_?"

"As I said, it is a fail-safe. It is in case the base is ever compromised. Either to temporarily take out everyone so Hydra is not compromised or to kill the intruders after evacuation."

"I guess that it will have to do," she said to herself. Her hand drifted over to the metal letter opener resting in the pen cup on his desk, lifting it up for inspection. Then she turned her eyes to him, a darkness that often saw in his own, and Marcus knew that something bad was coming his way. He could only stand there frozen as she pointed the sharp instrument into his neck, just enough so that he could feel it. "You, on the other hand…I have special plans for you."

Teagan, still holding the sharp item, then ordered him and two other guards to head back to her cell. Henry and the other guards were told to stand and wait for her to return without moving.

Would she just kill him? Somehow he doubted it.

As they walked without a word towards where she had been kept for so long, Teagan broke the silence with a question for him.

"I've always wondered one thing, Keeling _. How is it that with how often you raped me that I never became pregnant? Did you do something to me?"_

"No, it was not you. When I was injured years ago, the shrapnel not only damaged my leg but also my reproductive organs. I am sterile, unable to get anyone pregnant."

He hated that she had brought up that one point. For years, it had been one of the threats that he liked to use…making her worry that she would become pregnant with his child. He had even taken to lying to Teagan by telling her that her menstrual cycle was late just to mentally hurt her a little bit more.

With him standing just inside of her cell, " _Strip and do not fight from this point forward_ ," she simply ordered, and he did so without hesitation.

Once he was standing there naked, he knew that it was going to be very, very bad. Marcus didn't even need to look at the twisted grin on Teagan's face to know...one that he used so often.

" _Secure his arms into the binder just like he had mine. Do whatever you have to, no matter how painful it is to him, to get them in there_ ," she coldly instructed the two guards.

As they walked towards him, Marcus saw that they didn't look upset at being given the order. In fact, just like the merciless Hydra guards he knew they were, they appeared to almost be smiling at the idea of the cruel act they were about to perform on him.

With the command she had given him earlier to not speak unless questioned, he couldn't even beg her to stop. The most that he could do was shake his head as the two guards approached him.

"What? You didn't seem to have any problem binding _me_ in this fashion. I'm just giving you the chance to see what it _feels_ like."

Even with being forced to not struggle, the two guards roughly tossed him onto the still damp concrete from where she had been washed off earlier. The sound of the chain being moved made him turn his head. It was being lowered so that it would reach him on the floor.

The first metal piece was laid against his back, the outline of the W-shaped cold on his skin. As his left arm was bent behind his back in a way he had never even tried to do, he found that he could at least scream since it was not actual words coming from him. One of guards held it in place as the other did the same maneuver with his right. He was sure that his joints were about to pop out of place, just as Teagan's had done so many times through the years.

"Painful. Isn't it?" her delighted voice reached him over his cries of pain.

"Yes," he was forced to answer by her previous command before he continued to howl as the top piece was put into place. Since it was created with the size of Teagan's arms taken into account, his hands were forced into small fists in the enclosed top area. Some of the hairs and skin on his thicker arms was pinched by the two sides coming together, the guards having to adjust them painfully until at last the skin was inside so they could bolt the item into place.

There was no way to hide the tears already pouring from his eyes at the immense pain he was in. Marcus couldn't remember the last time he'd cried. Even when he had been dealing with the shrapnel injury to his body, he never showed this type of weakness.

" _Lift him up_ ," he heard her say. " _Make the chain just long enough so that his feet barely touch the ground_."

The chain's crank began to click as it shortened, forcing his body up into a standing position. Soon, his shoulders were burning with an agony that he'd never felt before. The bulk of his weight was now was pressing down on the balls of his feet as he strained to stand just a bit higher to stop the pain in his shoulders. He'd often put Teagan into this position, knowing it would hurt, but not truly understanding just how much it did until now.

Turning around so that he faced the door, he watched Teagan whisper into the ear of one of the guards who then left.

"You have no idea how many times through the years that I have wanted to see you just like this," she told him with a cruel grin. " _You can now speak freely._ "

He didn't need to be told twice.

"You fucking bitch! When I get out of here, you are fucking dead! I don't care how useful you are to Hydra! I'll choke you to death with my bare hands while I fuck you one final time!"

Teagan's devious grin showed not a single hint of worry from her at his threats.

"Oh, you'll be _fucking_ one final time, just not who _or_ in the way you think."

"What the fuck does that mean, bitch?" he yelled just as the guard who'd left returned with an item in his hand.

Marcus' blood ran cold as he saw him holding the sensory deprivation hood from where he'd been sent to retrieve it from the interrogation room.

" _Give us a moment_ ," she instructed as the two guards moved to stand out in the hallway but were intently watching the scene before them. Even under her control, they seemed fascinated with the brutality she was having them inflict on him, wanting to know what was coming next.

"You'll never get away with this. Hydra will find you and make you pay for everything that you plan on doing here today."

He could feel a sharp pain already starting in his arm muscles at the unnatural position they were in.

"As long as Sam is safe, then I don't care if I have to go down with this entire base to make all of you cock-knockers pay for torturing me all of these years. Especially _your_ sorry ass. I don't know if your misogynistic, masochistic attitude was preserved just for me, but I intend to make sure that nobody else ever suffers like what you've done to me…except for you."

Puffing out his chest trying to not appear weak, he sneered, "Cut off one head, two more will take its place."

Teagan narrowed her eyes at him, her voice just as sinister as his own, "Then I'll kill every last one of them also. I'm sure their blood will be just as sweet as my revenge on you."

He really didn't like the sound of that comment.

Her eyes began to sparkle as she captured his gaze.

" _The guard is going to put that hood over your head, blocking out the world for the rest of your life. Then you will be treated to a surprise. If that arm binder or any piece of that hood is ever removed, you are ordered to bite off your own tongue. If that doesn't kill you and you are continued to be freed from the binder and hood, then you will constantly do whatever is necessary to attempt suicide until they are put back into place on your body. Jump from a high place, stab yourself with any possible item you can, run head first into a wall...anything that you would consider possible lethal."_

Marcus knew his eyes were wide with hearing that. She was indeed going to kill him, just not in any sudden fashion. She was ordering him to end his own life. If anyone tried to free him, it will be his death.

"You can't mean that," he weakly tried to argue.

"Oh, don't I? Suicide is a guarantee of damnation of the soul. I'm just ensuring that yours makes it there. I told you long ago that I would see you in Hell one day, and that I would be the one to put you there. And with the blood of every other Hydra agent on this base also about to be on my hands, it will guarantee that it will happen. There's an old Irish saying: _Go ndeine an diabhal dréimire de cnámh do dhroma ag piocadh úll i ngairdín Ifrinn._ It means: May the devil make a ladder of your backbone and pluck apples in the garden of hell. I look forward to seeing you again."

Not sure if he wanted to scream or cry as she turned to leave him alone in the cell, he bravely exclaimed, "Hail Hydra!"

Reaching over without even looking back at him, she clicked the crank attached to the chain one final notch, putting him agonizingly onto the tops of his toes.

With that, Teagan walked out into the hall, ignoring his screams of pain as he struggled to get free while cursing at her.

* * *

Walking over to the two guards who had been able to hear her conversation with Keeling, she looked between them, asking, " _Has either one of you ever raped another person before_?"

Without hesitation, the one on her left answered, "Yes, I have."

" _Did you enjoy it and would you do it again_?"

"Yes, without hesitation," he told her, but she saw the worried look he gave at actually admitting that. Teagan shook her head, glad and sickened at the same time at being able to find one of Keeling's guards that would work perfectly into her plan.

Looking at the right guard, the took the leather hood from him and instructed, " _Go and wait with Bradshaw_."

He didn't even look back as he obeyed.

Inspecting the hood, she saw that the blindfold and gag were still in place, but she made sure that the parts that covered the ears were gone. If Keeling was asked a question, she wanted him to at least be able to nod his head and give an answer. That way, he could inform whoever found him of his preference of either staying alive in those hideous contraptions or finally allowing himself to die. It would be his choice…kind of.

Holding out the hood to the rapist, she emotionlessly ordered _, "Go inside of that cell and shut the door. You will securely place this over Marcus Keeling's head, locking it into place. Then you will repeatedly rape him, over and over again. When you need a break, use the shock-stick on him until he passes out, paying special attention to his cock and balls. When he wakes, repeat your instruction until somebody comes to this cell. You will inform them of the instructions that I have just given Keeling about killing himself if someone tries to free him. Then, the moment that door is opened, you will take this letter opener and stab it into the veins in your own neck. You can now speak freely."_

The guard took the hood and letter opener from her as he also began to plead with her to not do this to him. But his body began to obey the command even if his mind was free.

The rapist walked into the cell with Keeling who was pleading with the guard to not put the hood on. But her orders would be obeyed, without a doubt. Watching the door behind him shut, she thought it slightly funny that the only person who she knew could open that door with the code was now trapped behind it. Even if someone came to this level, they would have to work at forcing the door open while listening to him being raped.

There was always a chance that whoever found the two of them would ask Keeling as to what they wanted him to do, and he could answer with a nod or shake of his head as to if he wanted to be freed from the devices.

Teagan kind of hoped that he was so arrogant that he let his own torture drag on for a long time.

The sounds from inside the cell then changed, as Teagan contently listened to Keeling's begging which suddenly became a mumbled protest as the gag was finally put into place.

There was a type of satisfaction warmly flowing through her that she had never felt before. A special type of happiness at knowing what Keeling was about to go through.

Needing to take a moment for herself, Teagan began to aimlessly walk through the halls freely for the first time ever, not stopping until she found herself in the prisoner cell area. There was only one door open, guessing it was the one that had been Sam's. Walking inside of it, she sat down onto the hard mattress.

On the floor was a tray with bits of food scattered, but the mess meant nothing to her. Had Sam been fighting them this whole time? Giving his spirit, she felt that he probably had.

A tiredness was starting to come over her so she picked up the thin pillow, wrapping it in her arms…and found a familiar scent coming from it.

Sam.

Looking around, she took in the cell where Sam had been kept. There was nothing in here, not even a single book to occupy his time with. Instead, he had been stuck inside here with nothing to do. Teagan was not sure that she wanted to know what the speaker on the small table just outside the cell was for…even if she had a very good idea. Through the years, she had partially deciphered Keeling twisted mind. He would never pass up an opportunity to somehow torture a prisoner.

Sam had been not far away from her, listening to her daily beatings, and she never knew. All that time that she had believed him dead, safe from Keeling and this place.

Giving the pillow a hug, she inhaled his essence to help calm her. Keeling was no longer going to be a problem for her or anybody else. She was truly free of him.

All it had cost her was Sam.

Once she went through with the decimation of this base, if she somehow survived, there was no way that even Sam would be able to stand to be around someone so evil. He was too good, honorable…which is why he had to be saved. And she knew without a doubt how disappointed Sam was going to be with her. There was no way someone as kind as him would be able to look at her the way he had without always being reminded of the horrors which she was in the middle of inflicting on this base. He was needed out in the world where he could be the hero he was meant to be.

Letting the misery of what she had lost overcome her, Teagan broke down in his cell, crying aloud into the pillow that still smelled like him. There was no way that she would ever undo any of the commands that she had already done, and compared to what she was planning to do, they had been nothing.

Rubbing the tattoo on her chest, Teagan now knew that she never deserved Sam to begin with.

Keeling had damned her soul long ago and now she was too far gone to ever be saved.

Feeling a calm ease over her tense body, she knew that it was time to continue with Hydra's downfall. Placing Sam's pillow back on the bed area, she let her hand glide over it one final time while thinking of him.

She would make him safe at the cost of every life here.

Passing by Keeling's office where the other guards watched her, she knew they were worried about what she planned. They would learn soon enough.

But first, she had to make a final stop back at her cell. She had to know for sure…

Hearing the piercing scream that came from inside of the black room, she knew that the guard had started the next part of his orders. With each hard thrust into Keeling from behind, he let out a screech of excruciating pain as he received payback for all of the times when he had raped her.

Standing there listening, Teagan felt her body began to gently shake with contained joy as she reveled at his situation. Even though she was sure laughing was not a normal response, she knew her mind was far too broken after what she had just been through for days, weeks, months, or however long she had hung in that cell waiting to die.

Keeling was finally getting the payback that she had dreamed of for so long.

"Do you feel that, you fucking bastard!?" she screamed at the locked door, her fists pumping in the air in front of her. "It's not as fun when you're on the receiving end, is it? Scream...scream for me, Keeling! Let me hear your pain!"

As tears of joy rolled down her cheeks, Teagan finally allowed the pleasure of sweet revenge to penetrate all the way to her broken soul as her laughter joined in with Keeling's muffled shrieks. There was no doubt that he would be able to hear her.

 _Did someone who was insane actually know that they were?_ she wondered as she walked back down the hallway, wiping away the tears while looking forward to the next part of her plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you found a bit of satisfaction with Keeling's situation. After what he put her through for so long, I felt it an appropriate response. I'd like to hear from you out there as to what you thought. Ready to head back to Sam with the next chapter and find out what Teagan has planned?


	36. Revelations

**Nat's Chicago Safe House  
Minutes After Sam Reaches The Surface**

For almost two months, Steve and Nat had tried everything that they could to find out what had happened to Sam and Teagan. Nat had contacted anyone she thought might be able to help, but not a single one of them had any clue as to where the hidden Hydra base they may have been taken to was located.

Steve had taken a chance and contacted T'Challa, but even with his resources there had been no trace. He did not go into specifics of what had happened due to not wanting to worry Bucky, who had taken up residence at a village near the capital city. He could imagine the lecture that he was eventually going to get from him about running into danger just like he used to back in the day. And he did not want Bucky to leave the safety of being hidden in Wakanda with the hope of being able to help.

The only other thing Steve had considered was calling in Tony…but he was hesitant for different reasons.

He was almost sure that even Tony would not be able find anything considering the lengths Nat and T'Challa had gone to. His main hesitation was the fact that Tony was surely still mad at him. And if he refused to help find Sam because of such a petty reason, Steve didn't know if he would ever be able to forgive Tony. So to him, it was better to _not_ _ask_ then to be _turned down_.

The two of them were now back at the same Chicago safe house they had been at before leaving for the failed mission. Nat had suggested after a few weeks of recovering back at Clint's safe house that they move here for safety reasons. He had found himself sometimes just staring at the front door, hoping that it would just open with Sam and Teagan strolling in. Maybe Nat figured a change of scenery would be good for him.

Steve could only hope that if the two of them managed to escape wherever they were, that they would try to return to somewhere familiar and that they had been safe in. They had even made a stop at the South Dakota safe house on the way here, just in case they had headed there, but there was no sign of them.

Sitting at the kitchen table picking at their lunches, neither he nor Nat had really spoken much all day, both still upset after her contacts having informed them after breakfast that there were still no leads for them to go on.

 _Beep...beep...buzzz…beep...beep...buzzz…_ the sound of a ringtone and vibration interrupted the quiet of the room _.  
_

"What is that?" Steve asked while poking at the meal before him as the sound continued to go off from somewhere nearby.

"It's my emergency burner phone!" Nat exclaimed as she jumped up from the table to run across the room to where she had tossed it on the table by the front door upon arrival a few days ago. They both kept their bags mostly pack in hopes of getting that call which would tell them where to find their friends. But she always took out the phone and left it somewhere they would be able to hear it ring...just in case.

"I don't recognize the number," she turned back to look at him while holding the phone in her hand.

"Take the chance," he told her, nodding in understanding that it could compromise their position if it was a trap.

Swiping her finger across the screen, Nat calmly answered, "The Malevolent Spider Pest Control."

" _Nat! Thank God you're alive_!"

"Sam!" the relief palpable in her voice as she turned to face him while he stood up and rushed over to her. Pressing the speaker button, "Are you alright? Where are you? Where's Teagan?"

" _We're at Keeling's real Hydra base. We were captured and have been held hostage for…I don't know how long. We just managed to kind-of get free_."

There were a couple of parts of his comments that worried Steve, and he was not sure which one to start with.

"Are the both of you currently safe?" he asked.

There was too long of a pause.

" _I am_."

Steve looked over at Nat who looked as worried as he probably did.

"Where's Teagan?" Nat asked.

" _She's still inside the base. She's…I don't know…I think she's trying to take it down all by herself_."

"What?" he let the word slip out. "How?"

" _Her powers. Keeling fucked up by threatening my life and they changed again. She's using them to…I'm not exactly sure. But she got me out of there while she stayed behind."_

Steve knew that unless Sam was sure, he would not accuse her of doing anything wrong.

" _How long have we been gone_?" Sam asked.

"Fifty-eight days," Nat told him.

" _Fuck_!" they heard followed by the sound of crashing items. " _No wonder she broke down_."

He worried exactly what had happened if Sam was saying that.

"Nat, I'll grab our gear. Head to the jet. Trace this call and get us in the air," he instructed while taking the phone from her. Nat just nodded her head as she raced through the door, grabbing her bag as she went.

Steve need to know more about what they were walking into.

"Sam, what happened?"

" _Keeling happened. He's kept Teagan in some damn sensory deprivation hood for all of this time, up until less than an hour ago. Steve, she thought that_ _ **all of us**_ _were dead. Now, she's on some kind of revenge tour. The way she was questioning Keeling, I think she's going to do something drastic, to all of them. He's been torturing her since we arrived, and I think she want's him to pay for that more than getting free from the base. She's just not thinking straight right now_."

It broke his heart hearing just that small bit of what she had been going through for all of this time. Locked up like that while thinking they were all dead, with no hope of rescue? With her already fragile mental state, especially when it came to Keeling, Steve was worried how far she would take her payback.

"What about you? Did Keeling do anything to you?" he asked, running up the stairs to his room.

" _Not really. But I did spend part of this time in medical_."

He was grabbing his bag from off the bed he had claimed, but that comment made him stop.

"Sam, why were you in medical?"

" _At the base in Colorado. I was shot with an electric net that shut down my wings. When I crashed, I got a mild concussion and an injured wrist. They kept me secured to a bed and unconscious for…I don't know how long. I'd guess at least a couple of weeks since all my injuries were healed by the time I woke up. Then they moved me to the prisoner level where Teagan was, only neither of us knew it_."

Steve headed toward the front door again, glad that it sounded like Sam as at least healthy for now.

Natasha's voice suddenly appeared over the phone, " _I have your phone's signal locked into the jet_."

" _I really like your tricks sometimes, Nat_ ," Sam told her, finally sounding slightly happy.

" _Luckily we're only about forty-five minutes out if I push the engines_ ," Nat informed the both of them, knowing where the signal exactly was now. " _Can you stay safe until we get there_?"

" _Yes. I have two of my own personal Hydra bodyguards, thanks to Teagan_."

Steve ran across the yard, Nat lifting the jet off the ground the second she heard his feet his the floor.

"Can you get to her and stop her from doing anything rash?" Steve asked.

" _Unfortunately, no. She ordered the guards to not let me back in the base. I'm stuck outside in a building close by_ ," Sam told him as he made it to a seat near the front.

Steve gave a heavy sign, more worried that Teagan was going to overestimate her powers and make a mistake that might get her recaptured, injured, or killed.

"Just sit tight until we get there, Sam. We'll just have to hope for the best."

"Sam, leave the phone on, that way we'll now if something happens and can be prepared," Nat suggested.

" _Alright. But guys, please hurry_."

"We're already on our way," Steve reassured him as the jets kicked in.

* * *

**Interior of Hydra Base**

It was a long while later before Teagan finally made her way back to the office where the others were just waiting for their next command. To make space, she put the other guards into the hallway with the door open in case she needed them for something. That left her and Bradshaw alone together. But she felt more in control of herself, even if it was a darker part that she had let take over.

Sam was safe and now it was time for everyone at this base to pay for their crimes.

A couple of key questions to Bradshaw were all that it took for her to decide how to proceed with taking down this base. Each level could be put onto lock-down separately and then the chemical that would kill everyone could be released, guards, agents, technicians, scientist, medical personnel. But that made her think of something else.

Turning back to Bradshaw, Teagan worried about the answers he might give.

_"All of the medical experiments that were done to me. Are those samples still at this location or at another?"_

"They are all here on the experimental level," he told her, his eyes going wide.

He may have to answer but that didn't mean that he wanted to. There was a stiffness to his posture that just formed. It seemed like he was worried about this line of questioning. She needed to know what else he might be hiding.

_"What type of experiments were being done with them? Are they similar to what you made us think was going to happen in Colorado? Give me details."_

"Yes," he admitted. "We have been using willing agents as test subjects. Some received modified injections of a serum created using your tissue samples trying to recreate your powers."

" _Were any of them successful_?" she dreaded his answer.

"No. Either there was no change or they became sick and died."

Teagan let out the breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding. At least that meant there were no others like her out there. But if there had been, then there would have been no reason for Hydra to recapture her.

Then she thought about all of the different procedures that she'd been subjected to throughout the years. Some worse than others. She braced herself for the next set of questions.

" _What about the eggs that were removed from me? What happened with them?_ "

Bradshaw closed his eyes, a grimace on his face as he answered. That did not bode well, she knew.

"They are still frozen. At least the ones are that were not used for procedures."

Her body suddenly felt hollow.

" _What procedures_?"

"We impregnated three women to see if the children born would also have your abilities. We thought that maybe it would be passed genetically to your offspring."

Now her stomach lurched and she had to put her hand on the wall for support. They had made her a biological mother multiple times without her even knowing it.

" _And what happened_?"

"They were all born insignificant."

Her face scrunched up hearing that. Born. While she had been a helpless prisoner, Hydra had made her a mother. Three times. Her fingers were gripping something so hard her hand began to hurt. Then she thought about how he described them, so she asked, " _Insignificant? What does that mean to you_?"

"Their DNA showed zero signs of any evolutionary trait, powerless, so they were useless to us."

Her children? Useless? Her breathing was ragged, her chest starting to pound.

" _What did you do with them_?"

Bradshaw's face became a horrible façade of anger and worry, but he couldn't help but answer. His weak voice told her just as much as the words did.

"They were disposed of. Hydra is not a daycare."

The next few minutes were a blur of an adrenaline fueled fury.

* * *

**Marcus Keeling's Office**

Due to the commands that had already given to him, Henry Bradshaw could do nothing but stand motionless inside of the tornado of destruction that was now Teagan MacKenna.

In her rampage, she was smashing every single piece of furniture that she could find, save the desk and computer. Shards of porcelain and glass fell across his face as they shattered on the wall next to where he was standing. The shelves mounted behind Keeling's desk fell to the floor having been struck with a shock-stick she had taken from one of the guards upon her return. The way that she had been absently handling it made him wonder if she even realized that it was in her hands.

On the wall prominently displayed was a tapestry of the Hydra symbol. It was ripped down and tossed out into the hallway, where he could see the guards watching the chaos going on inside the room. They were only commanded to remain quiet and not leave so they were possibly enjoying the show.

The filing cabinet was turned over, the paperwork from Project Cherry Tree now scattered across the concrete floor. He could see pictures from throughout the years of Teagan and even some of the people she'd used her powers on. Keeling had kept a very good record of the work he had done for Hydra, it seemed.

Bradshaw then noticed that the crashing sounds had stopped and changed. Looking to the corner of the room, he saw that Teagan was slumped against the wall, her face buried in her hands, her legs drawn up to her chest, as she cried for the loss of the children she never knew that she had.

After a few minutes of having to silently listen to her cry, Teagan finally addressed him.

"Did they have names?"

Because she was not actually looking at him, Bradshaw knew that he didn't have to answer. But there was no reason for him not to. She could just make him.

"No. They were designated PCT-01, 02, and 03. Two females and a male."

"How long did they live?"

"The oldest was only six months," he told her.

"How long ago was this?"

Henry thought for a moment before answering, "They would be between the ages of 11 and 8 years by now."

"And you just killed them? All because they didn't…" her voice broke for a moment. "Couldn't you have at least taken them somewhere and given them to somebody? Let someone else raise them? Why did you have to kill them?"

"With all of the DNA testing that people are doing nowadays, we couldn't take a chance that years down the road that someone linked them to a member of your family. The question of how you had children after your supposed death could have brought us unwanted attention."

"Were they at least buried in a cemetery?"

"After being euthanized, they were disposed of in the incinerator."

Teagan slowly stood up, her red hair a wild mess and brushing the bits of debris off of her before walking to stand right before him. Her eyes began to shine, her facial expression formed of one of pure pain.

_"Do you even feel sorry or upset at what you did to them?"_

"No."

* * *

All that she could do was frozenly stare at the monsterous man before her.

If she had ever wondered how sick and delusional the people who made up Hydra ever were, she had just gotten her answer.

"Then I don't see why I shouldn't feel the same way considering what I'm about to do to all of you bastards."

Bradshaw's eyes widened at her words, but he held his tongue from saying anything else. His life was now hers and he knew it.

Teagan turned her eyes on Bradshaw, deciding that this needed to end now.

_"How do you secure the floors and release the gas?"_

"I can only do it from my office, a couple of floors higher," his voice trembled with fear.

" _Then we are all taking a trip_ ," she told him before giving out instructions to them. " _There's a couple of things that we are going to take care of first though."_

* * *

**Hydra Base**   
**Ground Level Hanger Area**

After his one attempt at going for the door, Sam was informed that they would restrain him if necessary to follow their command. So he was stuck pacing around the small room as the two Hydra agents guarded the windows and doors. They were on the lookout for anyone that would mean him harm while also preventing him from leaving. They had been here for a short time before the one at the door they had entered through gave a signal.

Seeing them moving into a protective position, Sam headed to the window and watched as another Hydra agent made a line for them. He did not seem threatening, especially since he was carrying a very familiar box in his hands.

"Steve, Nat, there's a single agent coming towards us with a box," he spoke into the phone.

 _"Are you in any danger?"_ Steve asked from over the open phone line.

"No, I don't think so. Let him in. He's not a threat," Sam then informed the two guards, who obeyed by opening the door.

"I have been instructed to give this only to Sam Wilson, also known as the Falcon," the new guy stood there looking right at him, as if verifying who Sam was.

"That's me," he told him.

Taking a couple of steps closer, he then put the box down before Sam. Removing a set of keys from his pocket, he removed the padlock and opened the lid. Turning it around so Sam could see inside, he found that this was indeed the same box that Keeling had his wings placed into.

"These are yours," the man nodded to him.

 _"What is it?"_ Nat asked curious.

"Teagan had someone retrieve my wings and sent them to me," he explained as the guard took out his gun and began readying it.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked him.

"I have orders to kill anyone without the password that tries to leave this base," the man said turning towards the door. "Also, I am to provide backup for your protection."

"Password?" he asked as the man continued walking.

"The female, the one that I have to obey. She told me a word that anyone authorized to leave this base will know. All others are to be eliminated with extreme prejudice."

"What is the password?" Sam asked.

"Absolutely," he answered before walking out into the hanger to obey his commands. Hearing that word told him that at least he knew Teagan had been fine as of a few minutes ago. Hopefully she stayed that way until he figured out way to get to her.

The guard was to shoot and kill anyone he decided was an escaping Hydra agent. Sam felt his shoulders slump know that he knew Teagan was going forward with her plan of revenge. He couldn't get back inside, and it looked like nobody was leaving here either. There was no telling what they would eventually find once Steve and Nat arrived.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, there was still twenty-five minutes until they might get here.

* * *

**Interior of Hydra Base**

Walking through the halls with her security escort, not one of the Hydra agents tried to stop them or even question the group as to where they were headed. In the lead was their base commander Bradshaw, walking tall while still acting like he owned the place. How wrong their assumptions were on that count. Surrounding her on the sides and behind were the four remaining guards from below. Not a single one of them even tried to get help or sound an alarm. The others must not know who she was by sight or they might have gathered something was not right with her being there while not restrained.

Reaching his office, she and Bradshaw walked inside while the guards took up positions on the door outside to keep anyone else from entering.

" _Once the levels are locked down, is there a way for them to escape_?" she asked looking around the nicely decorated room.

"No. The base was designed to contain Hydra's enemies, our own people, or anyone else already inside," he told her.

Walking around the office, Teagan worked out her idea just a few steps further. There was no way she was letting any Hydra personnel escape. But then she began to wonder about Bradshaw's statement, curious as to the exact wording of it, making her wonder if she and Sam had been the only ones here who did not want to be.

" _Are there any other prisoners at this base who are not Hydra_?"

"Yes," he simply told her.

* * *

**Exterior Hanger Level**

Sam saw the guards tensing up again, so he moved towards them to see what was happening now. Across the way, a small group of people were emerging from the base, heading for them with their own protective guards surrounding them.

"Steve, Nat, we have more movement from inside the base. I don't think it's hostile though."

" _What do you have_?" Steve asked.

"A small group looking to be civilians, guarded, heading for my building," he told them.

The guards were still obeying their orders, their weapons trained on them as they drew close. They reached the outside guard who questioned them for the password, which they must have given because he allowed them to continue on to his building.

"Open up the door," Sam instructed them.

Reaching the building, the group of five hesitantly stepped inside. He could see that between the three females and two males that all of them looked to be around college age to just past. Looking around at the guarded room, they finally spotted him and one of them spoke.

"I know you," the youngest female said, her eyes wide.

"Who are all of you?" he asked all of them while looking at them.

A different girl answered, "I'm Lauren Williams. Are you Sam?"

He was a bit surprised to hear her know his name, but he nodded.

"I was instructed to tell you that my father works for Secretary Thaddeus Ross."

Sam straightened as he figured out very quickly what was going on.

"Were all of you prisoners of Hydra?"

"Yes," a young man in his mid-twenties answered. "We have all been here for a while on the security level. We figured out that all of our family members are high up in the government somehow. We think Hydra was using us to blackmail them to insure they did as they were requested."

Sam asked a few more questions before heading over to the phone with the open line. They learned their names and who their parents were, along with how long they had individually been there.

"Steve, Nat, did you get all of that?" he asked picking it up and taking it off of speaker.

" _Yes, I just can't believe it_ ," Steve responded. " _We're going to have to call in the bigger authorities after we get there_."

" _I found out how Hydra has been able to keep themselves hidden. I've looked up three of the five so far and found that they are not even listed as missing_ ," Nat started to explain. " _Lauren is listed as traveling throughout Europe while taking a break from college. William is supposed to be on a missionary trip in Angola and out of contact due to the remote region. Brian is listed as a drop-out after his first year of college and having joined a cult_."

"They were made to disappear," Sam stated as he looked them over. "All of them were instead being held here as prisoners."

" _Without Teagan being in their custody, they had to resort to other ways to get honest people to do their bidding. She would have been able to command them to pass along anything they needed. Instead, they held family members hostage,_ " but Nat was just stating the obvious.

" _Sam, if Teagan is getting any innocent people out of there…"_

"I know, Steve. She's going to do something drastic," he simply said.

It hurt him so much to know that Teagan's mind had been so damaged due to Keeling's treatment of her over the past weeks. And during that entire time her soul had been shattered into thinking that not only he, but that Steve and Nat were also dead. She had probably been strung up in that damn cell in the dark to hang while believing that nobody was ever coming for her.

There was no way to even know how badly she might have been hurt in other ways. Had he sexually abused her while he had been down in medical unconscious? For Keeling, doing so would have only solidified her own beliefs that she was once again lost to the world with nobody to help or save her. The way he had been talking just before Sam had managed to get a hold of the guard made him think that he had not touched her. That he had been biding his time before doing so.

He hoped that with some more time together that he would be able to help her get over these horrible weeks. He remembered how broken she had partially been when they first met, but there was no telling how badly damaged her mind now was thanks to the isolation and tortures she'd endured. He might have to head some place where it would be just the two of them for a while. There were going to be some hard times as he tried to make her feel safe once again.

Sam knew he had to be prepared to somehow get back in there and find Teagan. He knew that there was a chance he could take the guards out, but now they were needed to keep the other prisoners safe. Once Steve and Nat got here, then he would have the backup he needed to save her.

Walking over to the box, he pulled out his wings with the hope that they got here soon.


	37. Bradshaw's Final Move

**Interior of Hydra Base**   
**Henry Bradshaw's Office**

Teagan watched on Bradshaw's hand-held tablet as the Hydra Strike Team brutally made their way through the medical research level.

After having them brought before her and turned on Hydra using her powers, their new instructions were to wipe out every single one of the medical personnel that was here but only after they were shown where anything stolen from her body was stored. They were to smash and destroy any kind of samples they found so they could never be used again.

Bradshaw had also been instructed to go onto their closed computer system and use his high-level access to copy their experiment files so that they could be given to the authorities. A high-capacity flash drive was lying on the hand-written confession of his crimes for someone to find later on.

She knew that after tonight, or today, that someone honest would need to know why all of these people were dead. Just being Hydra would not mean as much to them. Judges always wanted proof of crimes, so that was what she was making sure they would have, even if it was posthumously. She needed the world to see just how evil this organization really had been.

Steve had told her tales about how he'd fought with Bucky during the war against Hydra. Then later on what they had done to his best friend for so long. They had been around for far too long in her opinion and she meant to end that today.

On the screen, the last of the lab technicians in their white lab coats fell to the floor, his chest area newly stained with numerous red spots. The guards did a final sweep to check for anyone hiding before following their next set of instructions. She watched as they entered the elevator to head to the surface hanger to eliminate anyone on the ground level where they would not be able to be locked in. There were flight crews and ground maintenance working out in the open. After they figured out what was happening when the alarms started to go off, they could simply confiscate a vehicle and disappear. She would not let that happen.

A couple of minutes later, Bradshaw received the confirmation from the team that all personnel on the ground level had been dealt with. The guards watching over Sam and the other prisoners never even tried to stop them. She had specifically given them orders to not go after Sam, the prisoners, or the ones keeping them safe. Only to stop anyone else who managed to somehow escape the lockdown.

"It's done," Bradshaw told her, making Teagan look up from the security feed of the building where Sam was. She had watched as he had taken charge of the prisoners sent to him that Hydra had also stripped away from their families. Luckily for them, they were only useful as pawns. If they had also been discovered to have some kind of power, would they have been passed to Keeling?

"Then it's time," she calmly stood up from the comfortable leather chair. Holding her hand out, she just let the tablet slip from his to impact on the floor, the screen shattering. " _Release the gas. Kill them all, except for the level where Keeling is. He'll be taken care of eventually_."

* * *

There was a quick moment of hope for Henry.

_He had a chance!_

Teagan may have commanded him to 'release the gas', but she with the way she had worded the command, to 'kill them all', his mind was free enough to be able to take the action it need to ensure their own survival. 'Them' did not mean he and Teagan. Therefore, he was able to type in the command for the gas that was to be released in his office to be the knock-out one, not the poisonous one.

And she had no idea of the gas mask hidden in the bottom drawer of his desk that would allow him to survive this…with her back as his prisoner.

Bradshaw's hands began to fly over the keyboard as he pulled up the fatal protocol and securely accessed into it. He only needed a moment to pull his trick on her.

* * *

Eventually coming over to stand behind Bradshaw, she felt nothing towards the frightened looking individuals on the screen who were startled by security doors slamming shut to lock them inside of small rooms and hallways. As they began to bang on the solid metal structures holding them in, the white clouds of poisonous gas began to pour from the ventilation system. Now they were running around their tombs like chickens with their heads cut off. One by one, they began dropping to the floor, their hands grasping at throats which inhaled only death.

Hearing a hissing noise, Teagan turned to see the gas begin to slowly pour out of the air vents near the ceiling just above her head.

A sudden banging on the office door pulled her attention to the guards which she had ordered to look over them.

They were screaming for mercy, from _her_. The one who had been their prisoner for eleven years, begging for the same thing every single day.

Walking over to the door, she glared at them through the small rectangle window as they gripped their throats, coughing fits then taking them to their knees.

"Pathetic," she managed to mumble just before she herself began to cough. The gas was finally starting to fill the office. She felt the sting in her lungs and knew it was almost all over.

Hearing a scraping sound from behind her, Teagan turned to happily watch as Bradshaw died…only to find him sliding a gas mask over his face.

Inhaling a panicked breath, " _No_ …" she tried to scream out a command for him to not put the mask on, only for the next words to be cut off as a coughing fit overcame her.

Trying to take a breathe, she felt her body becoming weakened by the gas as she fell to her knees.

"Don't worry," Bradshaw's muffled voice told her as he walked around the desk to stand just out of her reach. "I only released the poisonous gas out there, just as you commanded, but in here I was able to instead release the knock-out gas. I would have thought after so many years of being told the proper way to command someone that you would have worded your orders a bit more carefully."

With her body still wracked with coughs, unable to properly speak, Teagan reached out, hoping to somehow remove that damn mask from his face, but her arms would barely move. She was already growing weak from the effects.

"By the time you wake up, we'll be long gone from here," Bradshaw told her, kicking away her hand which she managed to touch his foot with. "There's plenty of other Hydra bases that we can move to. But I do believe that my superiors will not be pleased with your actions here today. Their punishments are going to make you wish to have Keeling back."

Just before her eyes closed, she felt a single tear run down her cheek at her failure.

* * *

 **Hydra Base - Ground Level**  
A Short Time Earlier  


While waiting with the other prisoners, Sam put on his suit as they all waited for any sign from inside the hanger…and when it eventually came, how he wished it hadn't.

The sound of gunfire from the echoing interior threw everyone in the small building with him into a panic, ducking for cover without the building even taking any form of damage. Racing towards the door to see what was happening, he was tackled by his security detail, worried that he was about to not be safe considering the flying bullets thanks to what he was sure were Teagan's commands. They held him close to the ground, covering him partially with their own bodies.

"Get off," he tried to command them.

"Sorry, Sir. Not until it is clear," one of them informed him.

The freed prisoners huddled together, one of the females starting to cry in a panic. She must think that they were next, but he knew that Teagan would not have sent them up here without making sure they were safe.

Sam then realized that the phone which had the open connection to Steve and Nat had fallen to the ground and judging by the cracked screen, he guessed it had dropped the call. Hopefully they did not suspect the worst, especially since the last thing they would have heard was gunfire.

Seeing one of his guards brave enough to look out the window, Sam asked, "What is going on out there?"

"It's a strike team. They are eliminating the hanger guards and personnel," he was told by the man.

Over the next couple of minutes, all they could do was listen as a strike team systematically made their way across the ground level taking out every single Hydra agent they could find. Eventually the gunfire ceased, bring an eerie silence over the area. That was what finally got the guards to let him up.

All across the hanger floor, bodies lay scattered when they fell as they tried to run from the inevitable death chasing them. Sam felt his heart drop at knowing that this was only a small piece of what Teagan was planning for Hydra. With how badly they had hurt her over the years, he knew it was no less than what they deserved.

Only a few minutes later Sam heard the familiar sound of the Quinjet coming in for a landing long seconds before he finally managed to catch a glimpse of it. Landing close to their building and the hanger, he opened the door to step outside, his personal guards taking up his sides. There, looking a bit worse for ware, were the two people he was sure not long ago had actually been dead.

Both Steve and Nat were in their full uniforms so that there was no mistaking who they were. Steve's bright white and red stripes were now covered in darker dirt stains thanks to the base's explosion, fires, and avalanche. And the white of his star was entirely gone.

The exterior guard raised his weapon to stop them from approaching, but Sam called him off by saying they were friendlies. Luckily he was at least listening to him.

"You have no idea how good it is to see your ugly mug, old man," Sam couldn't stop himself from wrapping his arms around Steve to make sure he was really there. In return, Sam got an almost bone cracking hug.

"We've both been very worried about the two of you," he told him turning to look around the compound.

"I've been searching for any trace of where you had been taken with no luck," Nat told him as she stood guarded while watching the controlled Hydra agents. "You had us worried a little while ago when we lost the call."

"I'm just glad that somehow both of you managed to get out of that damn base," Sam told them as he headed for the building where the others were. Seeing Steve looking over his shoulder at the hanger, Sam knew that he was curious as to why they were not headed there. "I can't get back into the base."

"Why not?" Steve asked. "Was it locked down?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but Teagan ordered these guys," he double thumbed towards them, "to stop me from getting back inside. She didn't want me to get hurt."

Steve and Nat exchanged glances at hearing that.

"But we can," Nat then told him.

"There is a strike team inside of the hanger, preventing anyone from leaving," he told them. "I don't know if they will try to stop you from getting in."

"We'll have to take the chance," Steve told him. "Do you know anything about what she was planning on doing?"

Shaking his head, "Not really. But you'll be able to see some of her commands' work by the bodies lying in the hanger. And she already had Keeling under her control and was talking about getting the base commander named Bradshaw under her control."

"Then she might have access to the entire base," Nat pointed out.

"Nat, let's go see what we can find out. Sam, are you well enough to give us some air cover out here?" Steve asked him.

"I'm good to go," he told them, checking the straps on his wings. Then it occurred to him, "Can I send in RedWing with you? At least that way I'll have some idea as to what is going on inside."

"We'd appreciate the backup," Steve said pulling one of Nat's guns from the holster around his waist. He normally didn't use such weapons, but this was Hydra they were dealing with.

Sam watched as they carefully approached the hanger, the guards turning to face them but not pointing weapons for some reason. If they were order to go after Hydra, then with Steve in his suit they knew he was not an enemy.

Hopefully they would be able to get Teagan out of there before her luck ran out.

* * *

Natasha was cautious as they approached the guards minding the doors and elevator that led to the underground base. If they considered her and Steve a threat, they didn't act like it. With their raised eyebrows, she figured that they knew exactly who they were, even if they hadn't expected them to be there. Sam was still over by the other building, but he was accessing Redwing who was hovering just behind them.

"Are you going to prevent us from entering this base?" Steve very bluntly spoke up and asked them.

"Sir, we are authorized to prevent anyone from _leaving_ , but I would suggest that you do not enter," one of the guards informed him.

"Why not?" she asked.

"All of us Strike Teams were previously briefed as to base protocols. The alarm that went off a while ago, that was to inform those who recognize it that the base was being put into lock-down. Afterwards, we were told to expect the entire base to be flooded with a gas that Hydra already had in place. You can see some of the gas leaking through the elevator shaft and doors. As of right now, it should have flooded every level, killing every person below. We are ordered to kill anyone that managed to made it out and try to leave."

They both looked to where the Hydra guard was pointing. A faint opaque gas was still drifting through the elevator doors to escape into the large hanger area, luckily dispersing so that it was harmless out here in the open. The two of them turned and just stared at each other for a moment, wondering what to do since they clearly couldn't enter the base.

"Did anyone make it out?" she asked dreading his answer.

"No," he said before nodding to the bodies further off in the hanger. " _They_ were already on the surface. Nobody has come from the elevators since the prisoners."

"Teagan," Steve could barely whisper her name.

Nat wondered if he was more upset at what she had managed to do by taking out the entire base or by the fact that she might have sacrificed her own life to do so. She glanced back over at Sam but from this distance could not make out his facial expression at hearing the guard's words.

"Is there any other way that someone could have gotten out?" Nat asked the group of guards.

One of them spoke up, "I heard a rumor that Commander Bradshaw has a secret escape route, but I don't know if that's true or not."

"Steve, if he did have one, then there's a chance that Teagan might have made it out and still be alive."

"If it's real, where would she be?" he asked looking over at her.

Redwing then took off to survey the base from a higher vantage point.

* * *

**Interior of Hydra Base**

After the gas had dissipated enough in the hallway, Henry had taken the time to remove the handcuffs from one of the dead guards just outside of his door while also relieving him of a handgun. He needed to make sure that his prisoner was under his control once she woke up. Pulling her hands behind her back, he locked them into place. Now he needed to take care of the most import part, preventing her from speaking again.

Opening up one of his desk's drawers, he saw the ugly tie that his ex-wife had given him some time back that had been carelessly thrown inside after a bad meeting with Hydra Command. He had removed it after feeling stifled and tossed it inside to be forgotten about. Now he had a real use for it.

Forming a large knot in the center of it, he wrapped it around Teagan's head, making sure that the knot was firmly wedged inside of her mouth. There was no way that she would be able to form any clear words with it in place. Earlier after speaking with the guard who had returned to Marcus' office, he had been able to find out what she had commanded to become of him. Henry knew that he had to be even more careful with her now. If only they had found some way to turn her vicious streak so that it worked in Hydra's favor.

Grabbing Teagan up from off the floor, he threw her over his left shoulder, keeping his right hand free to use the gun tucked at his back waist if necessary. He headed to where the hidden emergency elevator access was hidden by the wood paneling that covered the cold concrete walls. Pressing the knot pattern in the wood, the door slid back and then open to reveal the small box just big enough for him and his captive. Stepping inside, he rested against the wall to ease her dead weight as he pressed the only button inside of his escape plan.

After two decades of commanding this base, this was the first time he had ever had to use the item.

The door shut them inside and began to rise towards the hanger level where it exited. He knew that the Strike Team was somewhere guarding against anyone escaping, but they would be exiting out into one of the back offices away from the main hanger. If he was lucky, he would be able to get Teagan down the hallway towards the back parking lot where a couple of vehicles would be without anyone noticing them. His own car was there and he could secure her into the trunk until he made it to another base a couple of hours away.

As the door slid open, Henry paused for a few moments to make sure that the quiet that greeted him continued. Glancing out into the office space, he didn't spot anyone that was alive. There was a bloody body lying partially in the doorway. He guessed that it was one of the ground workers.

The hanger had been left over after the Department of Public Works had built a new facility to hold salt and sand for spreading on the mountain roads during winter time. Hydra had come in and purchased it under the guise to use it as a research facility to study global warming at higher altitudes. Nobody had ever questioned the comings and goings of the helicopters or Hydra-jets which were stored in the large hanger building.

Hauling Teagan across the office, he paused only long enough to make sure the hallway was clear of guards. They must all be in the main hanger to the right. Henry turned left, hoping that they had not spread out to guard all the exits after eliminating the agents they found alive. The main elevators were the only ones that were common knowledge, so they should have taken up position there.

Reaching the exterior door, he slowly pushed it open, careful to listen for any sound that the movement had been noticed. But there was nothing but the sounds of nearby birds chirping away.

Adjusting his grip on her body, he exited the building with Teagan still unconscious as he headed for his car to make his escape.

* * *

**Exterior of Hydra Base**

"Oh, hell no!"

"What is it, Sam?" Steve asked him as he watched the security feed from Redwing on his visor. He and Nat had come back to the building once they knew not to head below ground.

After Steve and Nat had learned of the deadly gas inside of the base which would prevent them from entering, he had set Redwing to a continuous sweep of the immediate area. And he had just gotten his first glance of movement.

"He's got Teagan!" Turning to one of his guards, he demanded, "Where is the parking lot?"

"The backside of the hanger," he pointed in the direction Sam needed to go.

Taking off, he soared in that general direction, but headed over the hanger as a shortcut instead of going around it. He knew that Steve and Nat would be close behind him.

Cresting over the hanger's roof, Sam watched as the man he could only guess was Bradshaw carried an unconscious Teagan across the lot towards a car. With a flick of his wrist, Sam extended one of his guns and fired a line of bullets between them and the vehicle. The man paused to look around for where the shots have come from, ending his search while glaring up at Sam with hatred.

"Let her go!" he called out while dropping to a low hover not far from the ground from the base commander.

"You would shoot an unarmed man?" he was asked, but Sam noted that his right hand was covered by his body.

"If it gets Teagan away from you, then yes, I would," he sincerely told him.

The man's face slowly creeped into a nasty smile, before responding, "I don't really believe that."

Instead of placing Teagan on the ground, he instead took a couple of steps backwards towards the car. With that, Sam altered his aim and placed a string of shots into the engine block to take the item out of the equation.

"Now, I'm guessing that you're Bradshaw," Sam said while turning his gun back to aim at the man. "And as I said, let her go."

"I'll not be taken down by the likes of you," he sneered as he pulled a handgun from behind his back. Without shooting, he informed Sam, "Either let us go, or die here with all the others."

Sam hesitated at shooting in Bradshaw's direction with Teagan being slung over his shoulder.

But before either of them would come to find out who would win this sudden standoff, they were both distracted by the sound of numerous footsteps quickly drawing closer.

"Sam!" he heard Steve's nervous voice call out to him.

What nobody expected was the gunfire that then began to deafen everyone.

Sam could only watch as the man holding onto Teagan began to jerk with each bullet that entered his body. His grasp on her broke as he looked down to the numerous red holes that now lined his chest. Without the strength to support her anymore, Teagan's limp form fell to the ground with a thump. Falling to his knees, Bradshaw managed to look up at Sam hovering before he crumbled hard on the rough pavement, dead with a shocked look on his face.

Landing on the pavement next to Teagan, he quickly checked her over but could find no evidence that she had been shot. Turning his head, he saw Steve and Nat standing between them and the two Hydra Strike Team members that had killed Bradshaw. Then he understood what had happened.

Bradshaw trying to leave the base had triggered Teagan's command about stopping anyone Hydra who tried to. But it seemed that they still recognized Teagan as the one to obey and with their training had managed to not hit her with their fire.

Lifting her head onto his lap, he could see that she was unconscious but didn't know how it had been accomplished. Removing the tie gag from her mouth, she still did not rouse.

"How is she?" Natasha asked from where she now stood behind him.

"I'm not sure," he told her. "She won't wake up."

"He probably used some drug to knock her out. Considering that he wanted to leave here with her, I don't think that he would have harmed her," Nat told him as Steve came over.

"Let's get back to the other side. We need to contact the authorities about the prisoners that were freed," Steve pointed out. "Sam, I'll carry Teagan. Is that alright?"

"Yeah," he felt a bit better after considering Nat's words. He could only hope that she was right.

Lifting Teagan from the ground, they turned to walk back around the hanger, with the Strike Team members following behind.

* * *

"What do we do now?" Nat asked him as she glanced towards the 'converted' Hydra agents standing guard over the base. Steve had just been trying to figure that out himself. "We can't contact Ross and stay here until his team arrives. I really don't feel like another visit to the Raft, especially from the other side this time."

They were walking back towards the shed with the people who had been held prisoner. Sam was watching over Teagan, whom he had placed into the Quinjet on one of the jump-seats. She was still unconscious and they suspected that she would be for a while. With her newfound power, Steve was sure that Bradshaw did not want her waking up before he had a chance to secure her at another base.

"Unless Teagan comes around in the next few minutes and can change the command she gave them, we'll have to leave," he told her. "We can explain her command to the prisoners so that they know what is going on and why they need to be careful with their actions."

The first thing he and Nat did was to question the Hydra agents as to the full extent and wording of Teagan's commands to them. They found out that they would only kill Hydra agents trying to flee, not the prisoners who had the password to let them out. Organizing the group that had been freed, they gave a brief summary of how the agents' minds were being manipulated and how it meant that until Ross' team got here, that they would be 'protecting' the area.

Heading back towards the Quinjet, Steve paused after thinking of something else.

"Nat," he got her attention while glancing at the elevators that had not opened again. "I want to know what occurred down there and if there is anyone else left alive that we don't know about."

Nat's eyes narrowed at him.

"You think that Teagan killed Keeling somehow?"

"If she didn't do it before the gas was released, then I would think that the gas did the job for her."

"It's not like he didn't deserve it," her voice had a trace of amusement to it. She would not hold such an act against Teagan if that is what happened.

Eleven years of being locked away as a prisoner, tortured until she agreed to work for Hydra, the experiments done to her, being recaptured and held in some kind of solitary confinement for the past few weeks. Thinking they were dead with no chance of rescue. With that being topped off with Keeling holding a gun to Sam's head and threatening to shoot him.

After all of that which she had endured, he couldn't hold it against her either.

"But, I can see if one of the guards happens to have access to the security feed before we leave here and get access to it. Hopefully it is still working and recording. Then we can go back and watch what happened after Sam was brought to the surface," Nat pointed out.

"Do that," he told her. "I'm going to check on Sam and see if Teagan is awake yet. Let's get out of here right after sending our message to Ross."

"Will do," she said moving back to the guards.

Moving to the Quinjet, he found Sam slumped in a seat next to Teagan with her head in his lap still asleep.

"Nat will be back in a minute, then we'll send our message to Ross before getting out of here," he told Sam.

Sam just nodded his head in agreement, the only sign that he was listening to Steve. Sitting down across from him, he could see the weariness in Sam's body now. He looked slightly thinner than he had the last time he'd seem him, but not as much as Teagan did, so he knew neither one had not been feed properly.

"Are you feeling alright? Any injuries that need to be taken care of?" he asked.

"No, she got me safely out of there," his voice sounding tired. But then with a bit of his old humor, "But I wouldn't mind a greasy fast-food cheeseburger, if we can take this thing through a drive-thru."

Steve gave a smile, glad that his friend was at least well enough to be able to give a slight joke.

"I'll see how well Nat can actually maneuver this thing."

"Did I hear my name?"

They watched as Nat hit the button to raise up the ramp, closing them in for the flight.

* * *

**Exterior of Hydra Base**   
**Hours Later**

"Secretary Ross," one of the Tactical Team members nodded towards him as he stepped off of the helicopter. He was just arriving at the Hydra base that Romanoff had sent the quadrants of with a brief explanation of what had occurred here. He didn't even want to know where she had gotten his personal cell phone number from.

"What do you have?"

After having been contacted four hours ago, he knew that a personal visit to this site was going to be necessary. To have a Hydra base just a few hours drive outside of Washington had him guessing as to what it was used for. And he wanted to see it all for himself.

"The freed prisoners are still being questioned so that we can ascertain when they first went missing so we know how long their family members have been compromised," he stated as they began to walk towards the open hanger. "The Hydra agents that were protecting them have been unarmed, detained, and are also being questioned."

"Protecting them?" he asked, coming almost to a stop.

"Yes, Sir. It seems that a female with red hair ordered them to guard and protect the prisoners that Hydra had taken. But we don't understand why they would suddenly turn their allegiance from Hydra."

"Polly," he mumbled under his breath as he started walking again.

"Sir?"

"Never mind," he told him, knowing exactly how they had been turned.

Now, he really wanted to know _all_ there was about this base. Romanoff's message had been short and sweet, giving the detailed location while explaining about the prisoners they had found. So what exactly was so interesting to bring those criminals out of hiding to take out this particular base?

"But, Sir...Lieutenant Lethco has a special situation that he want to confer with you about."

"What type of situation?"

"Um…a hostage negotiation?" he answered sounding very unsure of his response. "I'm to escort you down to the location. I think it would be better for him to explain. I don't have all the details."

Knowing that Polly had probably been at this location for some reason, Thaddeus wondered if she had used her powers on somebody here. It sounded like she already had, so there were bound to be others.

"Lead the way."

As the elevator opened onto one of the lower levels of the underground base, Thaddeus took in the miserable gray and black dripping walls as he felt a shiver run down his spine. He had only taken two steps before the echoing sounds of screams and crying reached his ears, making his next step falter.

"What is that?" he asked slowing his pace, wanting an answer first.

"That is the…situation," the guard's face was beet red and his voice timid.

What had Polly done?

There were a handful of Tact-Team members loitering around the hallway not too far from where it ended at a door that the miserable sounds seemed to be emanating from.

"Sir," Lieutenant Lethco nodded his acknowledgement as another scream met his ears.

"What the hell is going on in there?" he demanded.

All of their faces turned towards the closed metal door.

"There is a situation that I'm not sure how to handle," he admitted.

"I've already been told as much. So why don't you give me details?" he almost bellowed.

Lethco took a deep breath before starting the tale.

"It seems that for some unknown reason, a Hydra guard is following his orders to continuously anally rape one of his superior officers. He claims that he has been commanded to do so and that he is either unable, or unwilling, to stop the act. He also states that as soon as this door is opened, that he will be forced to kill himself by using a letter opener jabbed into his neck. The strange…uh, _stranger_ part is that he says the officer with him is bound in such a way that if he is ever freed of any of the items, that he will also constantly try to end his own life."

Thaddeus stood bewildered as he listened to the strange tale that explained the horrible sounds in the room.

"I'm not sure if I believe him or if he is just saying that to keep us out," Lethco continued, "but I didn't want to take the chance of losing a high level prisoner."

"He's telling the truth," Thadeus admitted, getting the others around him to mumble to each other. The sounds coming from what he suspected was a cell changed, an electrical sound and more muffled screams. He couldn't finish his question of, "What is…?", knowing he was not going to like the answer.

"That would be the electrical prod being used on the officer's genetalia," one of the others spoke up.

"Polly must have really hated him," he said aloud more to himself but loud enough so that the others could hear him.

"It's like he's following a pattern, and has been since we arrived a few hours ago," Lethco told him. "We can force the door open, but that would cause the one doing the…dirty work…to commit suicide. I did not want to make this decision without your consent, Sir."

Thaddeus stared at the solid metal door as he tried to not wince at the pathetic whining sounds emanating from the cell before him. Knowing what he did about Polly's powers, he didn't doubt in the least that the agent was at least telling them the truth. But it sounded like they would only possibly loose one prisoner, but not the one that she considered a true enemy. Only someone who had done her some great wrong would have been left in such a situation.

They still needed to know more before he ordered the door open.

"I want that agent questioned so that we know exactly what is going on in that room. Have that agent separate himself from that letter opener. Then, when the door is opened, have a man standing by with a tranquilizer gun to take the agent out before he can hopefully do himself any other type of harm. If we are successful, we'll just have to keep him locked up somewhere without any way for him to follow through with the command he has been given."

"Yes, Sir," Lethco agreed with a nod to his head.

"Call me when you are ready to open the door. I want to be here for this. I'm going to find out what else this base is hiding."


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the erratic updates. My office has been moving and my life has been full of moving boxes. There is either one or two more chapters left in the story, depending on how long it goes for the final scenes to happen. So give me about a week for the next update. I am not about to break my 'finishing a story' steak and stop writing now. See you again soon!   
> P.S. I have Endgame tickets for the 25th, so yeah me!

**South Dakota - Safe House  
** **Hours After Leaving Hydra Base**

Sam was just leaving the bathroom from taking a decent shower for the first time in months when he finally saw Teagan's body starting to stretch from where she was lying on the bed. For the past few hours, she had been unconscious from the gas that had learned about. She had not woken up for during their flight out of the base or when Steve had carried her to the bedroom so that her wounds could be examined. The first thing he had done once they were alone was remove that horrible gown that Keeling had put on her. He'd told Nat to take it outside and burn it. After he'd cleaned any cuts he found, Sam put her into one of his softest t-shrits to make her comfortable.

Once they left the Hydra base, they had headed for the South Dakota safe house that they had spent some time after first leaving Wakanda. Steve and Nat had told him that they had come back here just a few weeks ago, hoping they had been hiding out here, so they knew that it was hopefully still under the radar. They had talked and decided that somewhere remote, without a lot of activity, would be good to help keep Teagan calm and help with the mental recovery that she would need.

They'd had no idea how long the drug in her system would keep her unconscious, but after what she had endured for the past few weeks, he wanted him to be the first thing that she saw when waking up. Sam carefully sat down on the mattress within arms reach of Teagan. He didn't want her to think that he was scared of her after what she had done, even if he still didn't know the full extent of the vengeance she'd taken on Hydra. Nat was still going through the security footage she'd accessed before they left the base.

On the flight here they had agreed that they would let Ross handle the situation, Natasha had also broken into his computer system so that she could keep track of their discoveries and reports of what had happened after Teagan had gotten him out of there. He was worried about what they would eventually discover, but only because it could send Ross into a frenzied search for her once he found out that his 'Polly' had been the person responsible for taking out the base.

"Hey there, sleepyhead," he calmly said, running his fingers softly over her forearm.

When her eyes finally opened, they began to scan the entire area surrounding her first before settling on his face.

"Sam?"

"In my own version of perfect flesh," he tried to joke with her, hoping to keep the situation light. It seemed to work as a smile formed on her lips before she closed her eyes again.

"I think the beach so we can fly kites again."

Sam's own smile started to falter at hearing her strange statement. Almost as soon as she had said it, he had realized what she must think is going on. Remembering how she used to tell him of stories of how she'd imagine being free, doing things and visiting places from when Keeling had her the first time, it sounded like she was mentally back there. Did she not remember anything from earlier?

"Teagan?" he tried to get her attention. When she didn't open her eyes, he ran his fingertips across her forehead.

"Hmm?" was her only response.

"Can you open your eyes for me?"

She did so then, smiling once again as she saw him sitting there.

"Where do you think you are?"

"Anywhere we want," she told him as her hand began moving over the soft sheet of the bed.

Taking a hold of her hand, he hoped that the tactile touch would help bring her back to reality.

"Not this time," he told her, lifting her hand up so that it touched the side of his face, letting her feel his warm skin. "We are back in South Dakota, in the old farmhouse. We were able to escape the base, thanks to you."

Now her brows pinched up. Had she remembered something?

"Don't lie to me. You are the only one who has never…"

Teagan's voice tailed off as her eyebrows scrunched, crease lines forming on her forehead. But before he could say anything, she continued.

"You did lie to me."

That single sentence made his eyes go wide.

"Keeling…he has me again and he's hurting me."

There was no mistaking the tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"No," he told her. "Keeling is gone now. He'll never hurt you again."

Her face pinched up in anger.

"I've heard that before."

"Teagan..." he faltered for a few long seconds while trying to figure out what to say to her accusations. He knew that over the past two years that he had told her many times that Keeling would never touch or hurt her again. And as it turns out, it had been a lie.

"I did not intentionally lie to you, Teagan. I honestly believed that Steve, Nat, and I would be able to keep you safe. It just turns out that I was wrong. I'm sorry."

"And now they're dead," her voice was almost a whisper. "All of you are."

"No," he told her, touching his finger to her chin so that he lifted her face towards his. "This is not a dream. I'm alive. So are Steve and Natasha. They were able to get out of the mountain after it fell around them, trapping them inside for a while."

He could see that she almost looked like she didn't believe him.

"Would you like to see the two of them? I know they wanted to make sure that you were alright once you woke up."

Teagan seemed reluctant at first, but then she nodded her head.

Standing up, he went to the partially open bedroom door and called out their names to the both of them. Moments later, they both stood in the doorway.

* * *

Seeing the three of them standing there, alive and staring down at her, Teagan knew that this was not like the other dreams that she'd had over the past few years. Never before had she imagined Steve and Natasha when she decided to go on an adventure with Sam. She liked it to just be the two of them. It was easier to concentrate only on him.

Running her hand over the bedsheet again, she noticed that it did feel a lot more real than anything else had in a long while. Seeing the state of her hand, she lifted it up to glare at the red, raw tips of her fingers, some of them missing fingernails. She remembered using them to scratch at the metal of the cuffs for so long that they eventually pulled off. But never before had her hands looked like this in one of her dreams.

Sitting up, she reached out and turned on the small lamp that Sam had gotten for her when he had learned that she didn't like sleeping in the dark. The door to the bedroom had the same lock that allowed her to lock it from the inside only. Even the funny picture of cows over the dresser was here. The room was just like she remembered it...

"How are you feeling, Teagan?" Steve asked her. "Is there anything that you think you need to see a doctor about?"

Looking down at her body, she saw what he was curious about. Her arms were nothing but bruises, both old and new. Lifting the hem of a clean oversized t-shirt that looked like one of Sam's, she found matching bruises all over her torso. Throwing off the cover, she saw her legs matched. Her body was always fine in the dreams. What was going on? Pictures of walking through the Hydra base flashed in her mind. That was not something she'd ever seen before. Unless...

"It was real? It wasn't a dream?" she mumbled as recalled some more flashes of what had happened at the base. The fear of knowing that Keeling was going to punish her for kicking him was the first thing that came back. She then remembered being moved to the interrogation room. A prisoner was across the table from her, his face covered. Then that mask had finally been removed and she had seen…

"Sam!"

The instant that she remembered seeing him sitting there across from her, a prisoner of Hydra and Keeling, and not dead where he would have been safe from them, bought on the panic attack. Her body tensed up as her breathing became heavy in an erratic pattern.

"You have to get out of here! You're not safe!" she grabbed at his arm, squeezing tight so that he would understand the severity of the situation.

The entire time she'd been locked away, the single thought that had given her any comfort was that with Sam dead that he would be safe from Keeling. But to see him alive as a prisoner…there was no telling what Keeling had been doing to him. What tortures he might have endured just because of knowing her, being someone close to her. It was not safe for him to be near her.

"Teagan, you need to calm down!" Sam's voice was far away, as if on a phone being held away from her ear. "You are safe, I am safe, Steve and Nat are safe. Steady your breathing."

She had not even realized that she was now gasping for air, as if drowning. Her chest was starting to ache, her head was pounding.

The fear that she was going to wake up from this dream and find out that Sam actually Keeling's prisoner, that he was not safe, formed another pain in her chest. One that was worse than knowing once she was awake that she would be dragged back into the training room for more tortures.

"You have to run! Get away...get out...of here!" her gasps for air hindered her trying to warn him. "I'll stop him...keep you safe...run...safe."

The last thing she saw was Sam's very worried face before she passed out.

* * *

"How is she?" Steve asked from the doorway a little while later.

After Teagan had fainted, Sam had sat with her, hoping to try and calm her down when she woke up again. She had screamed out his name just like she had at the interrogation table, giving him a good guess as to what had brought on the panic attack. He had heard them talking while the hood had been over his head, and it had not been until his face had been revealed to Teagan that she had freaked out.

Moments before she had passed out, through her strained breaths, Teagan had been mumbling the words 'not safe' over and over again. He knew that she was talking about him and not herself. Sam guessed that it was knowing that he was also a prisoner that had brought out such a painful emotion.

"Still asleep," he told him standing up to join him at the door. "I think she's going to have a very hard couple of days once she wakes up. It sounded at first like she didn't actually believe that any of us were really here before thinking that I was not safe."

Steve nodded his head in agreement.

"After what it looks like she has been through, that's understandable. Do you think that she had any injuries that need to be taken care of?"

"I don't think so," he told him. "I checked her hands and didn't find any injuries like the ones that I know Keeling had done to her before. But…"

Sam paused, hesitating to admit to the next part.

"But?" Steve asked.

"I know that Keeling had her tortured since we reached the base. I'm just not sure exactly what he did to her."

Steve now sounded hesitant to ask, "How you do know?"

"Because for the past few weeks he made me listen to it," he admitted. "Keeling had a speaker put out of reach just outside of my cell. Any time that she was beaten or had…whatever…done to her, he made sure that the speaker was on so that I could hear it."

"Whatever?" Steve's voice almost cracked, probably thinking the worst.

"I don't think that he raped her," Sam admitted. "The sounds were not right. But that is what started the series of events that led to us getting out of there. She wouldn't break and so I heard him talking to her, telling Teagan that her time was up."

Sam took a moment to explain what had happened with him breaking the guards arm, being moved to the interrogation room, and then being led out of the base.

"Do you know what happened to Keeling?" Steve asked.

Shaking his head, Sam looked back over at her sleeping.

"No, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was dead right now. With how he treated her…"

They both stood there for a long time in silence. Had Teagan somehow killed Keeling? Had she done it herself, or had one of the other guards do it? Or had she just commanded to do it himself? Did the gas take care of the job for her?

"Nat's down in the kitchen making a couple of sandwiches. I'll bring you some up," Steve told him, heading for the stairs.

Sam wondered how Steve would handle it if they found out that she had indeed killed Keeling.

* * *

**South Dakota**   
**Late That Night**

Steve stood up from the kitchen table, made his way out of the back door and had to use the porch post to keep himself on his feet.

There was not a single word being spoken by the other two still sitting at the table.

Nat had found and shown them the footage from the base on the prisoner level where Sam and Teagan had been held. There had not been any audio, so the video only showed Keeling being led into a cell that Sam confirmed used to be Teagan's. At that point, he and a guard didn't exit before the door was shut. Nat ended up having to pull the preliminary report off of Ross' systems to read to the two of them the accounts given by the remaining guard and the security team that had found them.

She had just finished explaining the situation that Keeling had been left in. Bound, hooded, hanging, naked...raped.

Running his hand over his bearded face, Steve was trying to figure out how he felt about Keeling's situation. Both he and Bucky had killed plenty of Hydra army goons back during the war, and some even later. But leaving one of them to be tortured in such a way while also giving a final command to kill themselves if certain circumstances changed...that was a whole new matter.

It would have been so much easier if Teagan had just killed Keeling.

A few minutes later he heard the squeak of the screen door being opened then closed before Sam came to stand only a few feet away from him. He already knew where this conversation would go without a single word yet being spoken.

"You understand where the hatred for him, Keeling, came from," Sam's voice was trying to be calm, but there was an undertone of apprehension. As if he were worried about saying the wrong thing. "He pushed Teagan to her final breaking point. She wasn't thinking clearly down there."

"I understand that, Sam," he cut him off. If he would let him, Sam would probably stand here until sunrise defending Teagan's actions with every breath that he took.

"I don't know if she even really remembers what she did, or if she thinks that it might have been one of her dreams."

Giving a heavy sigh, "That's what I already figured. She didn't seem to believe that were were actually right there in front of her earlier. But those commands...I...I just don't know what to think about them. Not only with what she did to Keeling, but to that entire base."

Sam seemed to consider this a few moments before he pointed out, "You do remember what Bucky did back at that base inside of the bank vault in Washington after he got free from Hydra."

Steve nodded as he recalled what they had found. Every scientist and guard that had been left inside of the bank where that Chair had been had been found dead a couple of days later once the dust at Shield had settled. Bucky had killed all of the Hydra agents he had found there.

"And I know that if I condemn Teagan for her actions then I might as well blame Bucky too, since he was still coming out from under Hydra's control."

They both stood there in silence for a few minutes, collecting their thoughts.

"I think that it's two parts that are upsetting me," he finally admitted. "It's that we were unable to get to the two of you any sooner so that we could prevent Teagan's torture in the first place. It feels like I failed the both of you. And then there is the fact that there is no way to have the final command to Keeling ever safely removed. There is no way that Ross would ever let any of us, especially Teagan, near Keeling without also taking us into custody. And even is the Accords thing finally works itself out so that we could get to him, there is a chance that Teagan wouldn't remove the command."

Sam gave a heavy sigh from next to him, knowing that he was right with the assumptions.

"None of what happened to us was either yours or Nat's fault," Sam told him after a few moments. "Hydra just happened to be one step ahead of us, and we didn't see it. They have been able to hide the extent of their reach and power, and we underestimated them. Going forward, we'll just have to make sure that it doesn't happen again."

That brought about a new wave of worries concerning Teagan.

"Originally, we were only worried about staying ahead of Ross, which was easy enough thanks to Nat and her connection. We never even considered Hydra as a potential threat. We were even actively looking for them. And it looks like the whole time we've been on the run that they have been hunting us, or specifically, Teagan. There is a chance that they will not stop until they find her again."

Sam's head dropped at hearing it spoken aloud.

"We'll need to stay on the move even more now," Steve told him. "And Teagan was fragile enough the last time. There is no telling how she will be able to deal with what's to come next."

"What are you saying?" Sam asked him, worry in his voice.

"I don't know, nothing, maybe," Steve admitted. "But I'm sure that you've already considered that she's going to have an even more difficult time in the near future."

"Yeah, I have."

"Are you going to be able to help her readjust? This is not going to be like the last time. Keeling broke her more than Ross ever could have."

"I know."

They stood there for a long couple of minutes before he heard Sam finally say, "I don't know how to help her right now except to just be there for her."

Steve reached over and placed his hand on Sam's shoulder, telling him, "Then that is what we will all do."

Glancing up, he saw a soft glow coming from the room Teagan was in, the window partially open to let in a fresh breeze.

* * *

Teagan lay on the soft mattress for yet another day, ignoring Sam's suggestion that she at least go downstairs for a change of scenery. The past three days, all that she had wanted to do was stay here and hope that she didn't suddenly wake up back in that cell. Ever time that she closed her eyes after being awake for too many hours, that was her consuming thought.

It had not been until the second day of waking up in the same bed that she began to think that maybe this was not one of the waking dreams that she'd begun to have again. Small things would change, like the trays of food waiting on the small table under the window.

Sam was always coming and going, never leaving her alone for very long. Steve and Natasha would also stop by to try and talk to her, but there was not much to say to them. She could tell that they didn't know how to treat her after what she had done.

It had slowly been coming back to her, that final day down in the Hydra base. As she thought of it, she would go from long bouts of crying to hysterical laughter. The expressions on the others' faces told her what they thought of her mental state. Nat was usually the hardest to read, but even her eyes now filled with worry for her.

Teagan had finally started to accept that this was all real. And if it was, then the conversation that she had overheard that first night of being awake had been real too.

Sam and Steve might have thought that she wouldn't have been able to hear them talking on the back porch, but the quiet of this place allowed their low voices to carry all the way to her bed through the open window. Even with them knowing then what she had done, they were still willing to try and hide her from Hydra. They would try to keep her safe...again.

But, they had already failed once.

And even Sam had been taken prisoner.

No matter what they tried, there really was a chance that Hydra would once again catch up with them. It may not be Keeling, but Bradshaw's final words to her just before the gas had overpowered her had come back to her. Hydra still had people even worse than Keeling. And they knew that she was once again out in the world, just waiting to be found.

How hard would it be for Sam, Steve, and Natasha to keep her safe when they were such public figures? She knew now that they had been lucky up to a certain point over the past two years. And look how that had ended.

She would never be safe as long as she remained with them.

And Sam would never be safe as long as he was near her.

Teagan knew she had a decision to make. One that would effect all of them.


	39. Epilogue: Teagan's Decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to get this final chapter out. To explain, I had written most of this out, but when I went to hit save, my internet had gone out...erasing everything! So after two weeks of being mad, I finally decided to sit down and redo the entire thing again. I think it's close to the original, and I'm happy with how it came out.
> 
> Thanks for sticking with the story and I hope that you enjoy this finale.

**Epilogue**

* * *

**Safe House - South Dakota**  
**Two Weeks After Rescue**

Sam knew that if he didn't get Teagan to open up to him, that she was never going to get any better. For the past two weeks, all that she had wanted to do was stay in that bedroom. Sometimes she would ask him to stay with him, while at other times she would demand for him to leave. A habit that was becoming more frequent. There was no telling which request she would make of him when she woke up in the mornings.

The first few nights that they had been back at the house, he had either fallen asleep on the chair near her or on the couch downstairs. He was worried about sleeping in the bed next to her and what affect it might have on her. But after only a few nights, she had started seeking him out after the others had gone to their own rooms. The first time he had been asleep on the couch, Teagan had crawled onto the other side of it to sleep, reminding him of how they had first gotten to know each other. Then when he had fallen asleep on the chair in her room, she had woken him to take his hand and guide him to his side of the bed.

Some of the more recent nights, he would wake up to find her wrapped around him, holding on as if she believed he would disappear.

Teagan had only been outside three times since they had arrived here, and only one of them was during the daytime. She had told him that it would be harder for someone to see her at night, and he tried to point out that there was nobody around to see her at all.

So he had determined last night to try and give her a stronger reason to go outside with him...in the form of a picnic.

Steve and Nat had gone to the grocery store this morning and picked up everything they would need to grill hot dogs and burgers on the simple charcoal grill they had left in the small storage shed almost two years ago. He hoped that seeing them all safely surrounding her would help to ease any misgivings she had about Hydra being nearby.

It was now close to lunch time and Steve had just gone outside to light the grill. Nat was gathering the items to be cooked from the fridge, and his mission was to get Teagan out of that miserable room.

Seeing her still lying on the bed facing the window, he was not sure if she was awake or asleep. "Teagan? Are you up?"

"Yes," she simply said, not offering anything more.

"It's almost lunchtime and we're doing a picnic," he told her coming to sit on the edge of the bed near her. "I think that it would be good for you to come down and join us for a while. Get out of this stuffy room for a bit."

Teagan averted her gaze from him to the window, her lips pursing together just a bit.

"It will be fine. There is nobody else around. You'll be safe with us," he hoped that something didn't happen to turn him into a liar, like she had accused him of being that first day.

For some reason, he saw tears starting to form in her eyes, but then Teagan nodded in agreement.

"Alright," she spoke in a soft whisper.

He waited by the door for her to change out of the pajamas he'd had Nat pick up in town. He had hoped that something new and colorful might help to brighten her mood, but over the past few days she had stayed the same.

When they finally made it downstairs, they walked into a conversation about how Wanda had not checked-in with Nat over the past two weeks. Her cell phone signal had been turned off hours after their last talk and had not been reactivated since.

"Do you think Hydra got to her?" was Teagan's first worry.

"No, it wasn't Hydra that's gotten to Wanda," Nat told her with a sly smile. "She was meeting up with a certain someone for a rendezvous for a few days. I think that she just wanted some privacy."

"A certain someone?" Teagan had the beginnings of a smile. "You mean she has still been talking with Vision?"

"Yes. Even more than she has been," Steve responded.

They had mentioned a few times in passing about how Vision and Wanda had formed a unique friendship during their time together. Then with the Accords and the fallout from them, it had only made them have to try and hide it even more. But Clint had told them about the many times over the past two years when Wanda would go off on her own for a few days before checking-in. They all agreed that their friendship seemed to be growing into something more.

And for almost two weeks, the two of them seemed to have dropped out of sight.

Teagan kept glancing out of the kitchen window while the three of them chatted. It wasn't until Steve and Nat began arguing about which type of potato chips were better, ruffled or kettle style that they were able to get Teagan to interact with them by asking her opinion.

Sam watched from a distance as she began to join in with the discussion, going over the finer points of chip flavor versus cooking style. Over the next few minutes, he saw her behaving more like she used to then she had since leaving that base. He had started to drown out their conversation when Teagan's questioning voice called out to him.

"Do you have pickle slices for the hot dogs?" she asked, looking at all three of them.

"Pickle slices?" Nat asked, not knowing why she wanted them.

"When we were in Chicago, their style of hot dogs have pickle slices along with other more unusual items," Sam told her. Turning to Teagan, "No, I don't think we have any pickles, or peppers."

"Oh," he could hear the disappointment in her voice.

Hoping to keep her in a better mood, "I can run to the store and get some. Steve and Nat have never had their hot dogs Chicago style. We could introduce them to it."

"You would do that?" she questioned.

"Of course," he told her, grabbing his phone from the counter and sliding it into his back pocket. Taking the truck keys from where they hung by the back door, he tossed them slighting in the air before catching them, happily saying, "I'll be back in just a few minutes."

Sam practically raced to the old truck, glad that Teagan seemed to be doing better already.

* * *

Watching the truck pull out onto the dirt driveway, Teagan knew that Sam would be gone long enough for her to put her plan into place. She had been thinking about how to accomplish the task, and she was fine with her decision, but she had been hesitating on move forward with it.

Having Sam around for the past two weeks was a double-edged sword: she liked having him around but knew that she was just making it harder on herself with what she was planning. Some days, she found that she needed him to be near her. But those days when she made herself not rely on him being there were some of the worst since leaving that base. She knew that if the two of them were going to survive, even if it was apart, then she needed to be able to stand on her own.

She must have been staring out of the window for too long since Steve's voice told her, "He'll be fine and back in no time."

"I know he'll be fine. He has the two of you."

"He has you too," Natasha told her.

That was the hardest thing to hear. Teagan turned around to face the two of them.

"After tomorrow he won't. The three of us are going to have a talk. _You will listen to my instructions and obey every order_..."

* * *

Sam had not been this happy in such a long time.

The four of them had spent most of the day eating, playing a board game, and telling more stories (most of which had been told before). Then he and Teagan had taken a long walk around the property, sitting by the fishing pond for such a long while they had watched the sun setting before coming back to the house in time for dinner. Afterwards, the two of them had ended up rocking in the chairs on the back porch until bedtime. Steve and Nat seemed to know that they wanted a bit of private time.

Teagan was just coming out of the bathroom after getting ready for bed, and he noticed that she had changed back into one of his oversized t-shirts to sleep in.

"You look good in my clothes," he told her, wrapping his arm around her waist as she came towards him.

"I figured after wearing those pajamas for the past couple of days that something clean would be nice."

"Are you alright with us heading out tomorrow?" he asked her.

When he had gotten back from the store, Nat had told them that Wanda had finally called to check-in since she had just moved to another safe-house. Hearing that she was a bit lonely, they had discussed and agreed at lunchtime to head to Scotland to stay for a few weeks. Teagan had easily agreed to the change of location, but he knew that in the past that she had a hard time with such moves.

"I'll be fine," she told him, but there was a sadness in her voice. She must have seen some worry from him as she then told him, "I had fun today."

He had not expected her to say that, even if he had suspected as much.

"I'm glad," he said leaning over to kiss her forehead.

Looking down into her eyes, Sam saw her give him a smile, but there was a touch of sadness in her eyes for some reason. Maybe tomorrow on their flight they would be able to talk some more.

Letting her go, Teagan started to walk towards her side of the bed then stopped. He was watching her, but then he got that feeling of when you walk into a room but forget why you had gone there to begin with. That was strange.

Shaking off the feeling, they crawled into bed, getting comfortable with Teagan lying against him, her hand wrapped in his as he held onto her. It wasn't long before he could tell that her breathing had evened out and that she had fallen asleep. Hopefully tonight she would not wake up from another bad dream.

* * *

Listening to his footsteps echo through the metal halls, Thaddeus Ross wondered if how his newest prisoner was finding his accommodations. It was the first time in over a week that he had been able to get enough time in his schedule to get out here to try and question him again.

Coming to a stop outside of the maximum security block, the guard punched in his code to open the hallway's door for him. There was no reason to have him moved to the interrogation room. He was sure this was going to be a short, one-sided conversation, just like last time. Entering the hallway, he moved the final steps to the last door holding the prisoner inside the cell that was being opened for him.

"How are you doing this fine morning?" he asked the bound and gagged man who was sitting on the cot. His response was nothing more than a couple of incoherent mumbles. "I guess that to you it doesn't really matter what time it is anymore. So let me get straight to the point of my visit. Now that you've had a couple of days to consider my offer, I wanted to see if you have changed your mind about helping me find Polly."

Marcus Keeling mumbled more into his gag as he turned his bound head away from where he stood nearby. It seemed that he was not going to be cooperative. With the files in Hydra's computer system on Polly having been corrupted, he was relying only on the ones that had been left behind to tell authorities of their crimes. Polly had also made sure that her real identity had been erased.

So now, only the man in front of him could tell him the truth about her.

"All you have to do is agree to give me her real name and how or where to find her. That's information which you cannot find useful anymore. You are never leaving here again. But once you tell me what you do know, I'll have my technicians get to work on freeing you from that trap on your arms and have that hood removed. I know that you couldn't possibly be comfortable. A real meal, not one administered through a feeding tube. I'll have them put together a special cell just for you. All padded walls, nothing sharp to hurt yourself with. It should be enough to keep you alive and not let you have to obey the command to kill yourself that she left implanted in here," he said tapping the top of his leather bound hooded head.

Keeling did not seem to like that as he jerked his head away from the touch of his finger. The mumbling got even more angry sounding.

"Polly must have really hated you to leave you in such a state. I know from the guard found with you that she was under your care for quite a while, maybe even years. And whatever you did to her, having her own devices put on you was just a bit of payback."

More grumbling could be heard. Maybe he needed more of a threat.

"I've been curious as to how Polly's powers worked. She never really gave us too much of a sample to go by. Did you know that over in the other cell block we have the guard that was found with you locked up for his own protection? I wonder if I had him brought into here if his mind would revert back to the final command she gave him. What would he do to you if he ever saw you again?"

Now the garbled mumbled took on a slightly worried pleading sound. Maybe the threat of a visit would be enough of an incentive.

"Well, I don't have enough time this visit to test the theory. And I'll take your attitude to mean that you've not had long enough to really consider my offer. So how about I give you some more time? Say a couple of weeks?" Thaddeus told him turning to head back out of the door. Thinking of a final something to leave Keeling with, he glanced over his shoulder to tell him, "By the way, you might like to know that this is the exact same cell that I kept Polly in for two years. I wonder if you will find it just as accommodating as she did."

As the door shut, Thaddeus could hear the scream that emanated from inside the small metal room. Walking down the hallway so he could get to the helicopter that was waiting to take him home, he was sure that he also heard the sounds of crying.

* * *

 **The Quinjet**  
**Hours After Leaving South Dakota**

Sam felt contented in a way that he had not felt in a long time. Teagan was lying against his side, his arm around her protectively as they had recently fallen into a comfortable silence. Steve and Nat were quietly chatting at the front of the jet, glancing back their way every so often. He was calm but there was an underlying anxiousness that made him feel like it was not going to last. He had no idea why the feeling had crept up on him a couple of times during the flight.

It had just been there, just below the surface.

"We are coming in for landing," Nat called back to them.

"Alright," he told her as he felt Teagan stiffen next to him. He was not sure what had brought that on. "Ready to get out of this eggshell for a bit and stretch our legs?"

Teagan turned to face him and there was no mistaking the sorrow in her eyes.

"Teagan, what's wrong?"

"Sam..."

As they touched down, Teagan wrapped her arms around him to steady herself from the gentle impact. When she looked back up at him, he saw the tears starting to form in her eyes. She looked to be on the verge of breaking down. Glancing over at Steve hoping for some help, he saw his friend standing rigid as he glared at Teagan, as if he had somehow been expecting this. But Steve made no move or indication that he was going to help.

Placing his hands on either side of her face, Sam firmly asked, "Teagan, talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."

Shaking her head slowly, "Sam, I'm sorry. I had to."

There was a coldness that now crept down his back.

"You had to what, Teagan?"

The back ramp began to open, revealing their landing spot. Sam could see that they were on a long strip of land jutting out into a calm body of water. Steve and Nat walked out of the Quinjet without even looking back at the two of them, like they knew what was going on. If they did, why hadn't they told him?

"It'll be better this way," Teagan's voice pulled his attention back to her. "You don't have to worry about me anymore."

"Teagan," he firmly said, taking a hold of her upper arms, "what is going on? Did you have Nat and Steve bring us here? Where are we?"

"Mutton Island in Galway," she told him, taking a step back so that he dropped his hold on her.

"Galway? Ireland?" he remembered the name of the city from times she had mentioned it.

"My cousin Quinn is here," she told him before walking towards the ramp. "He's waiting for me."

He recalled that name from when they were in Chicago.

"Isn't he the one in the mafia?" Sam followed her down the ramp. Steve and Nat were off to the side looking down the worn path on the grass to where a lone figure stood waiting. "Is that Quinn?"

"I called him last night and told him to meet me here," she told him.

"When?" he asked. "We were together all night."

"After we got ready for bed, I had you forget the call that I made to him."

Sam could not believe what she had just said. Teagan had always been so worried about using her powers on him, and now she had done it on purpose. Then he remembered that strange feeling that had come over him just before getting into bed. That was when she must have done it. Glancing at Steve and Nat, he now understood.

"You used your powers on them so that they would bring you here without me knowing, didn't you?"

"Yes," Teagan said wiping away a tear from her face. "I knew that they would try and stop me from leaving. Just like you would. But I made up my mind and I could not let that happen."

"Teagan, why do you want to leave?"

"It's safer this way," she told him, turning to face him. "Hydra is never going to stop looking for me. Not after what I did to them. If they don't want to capture me to use my powers, then they will be seeking revenge. That means that I'll always be a danger to everyone around me. And if you stay with me, then that puts you in danger too. I can't let that happen. Not again."

"That my decision to make, not yours," he firmly told her. "Please Teagan, you don't have to do this."

"Yes, I do. If Keeling had not been so fecking sure of himself and not done what he did in that interrogation room, then you would either be dead or turned into a Hydra crony right now. It was pure dumb luck that by pressing me the way that he did that my powers changed again. If Hydra ever found out about what I could now do, I have no doubts that they would come after me even stronger. They might even figure that I'm now too dangerous to let live, that there is no way for them to control me now. And that means that anyone around me would be in danger too. That means Steve, Natasha…and especially you. I can't have that."

As she had been talking, at the corner of her eyes, tears had been forming. Now as they threatened to fall free, Teagan used her hand to wipe them away.

"I understand that because we were captured once that you think Hydra is going to try to do so again. But if you leave us, and they do find out where you are hiding, if they managed to get their hands on you again, then we might never know," he pointed out, placing his hand on her cheek. "You would be gone and there would be nothing that I could do about it."

"If Hydra comes after me, and I know that I can't get away, they will not be taking me with them. I won't allow it, not again."

Sam felt another cold shiver run across his spine as the full depth of Teagan's words hit him. She would rather die than let Hydra capture her again. And considering how she felt about suicide and how it dammed the soul, he knew that she must already consider hers gone.

"Then if that is the case, then I definitely do not want you somewhere where I will not be able to watch over and help you. For the past two years, we have all been a team. Steve risked everything for Bucky. Nat would do everything in her power to help Clint if necessary. And I…I promise that I will do everything in my power to never let Hydra get their hands on you ever again."

"I know that you believe that, and I can't explain how much it means to me to hear that. Especially with knowing what I did to that base, to all of those lives that I took. So if Hydra does come after me, I will make them pay more than they already have. You're too good a person to have to deal with the darkness that is inside of me. I will not let you put yourself into that type of danger for me."

Sam knew that he was losing this argument, and he had no idea what to say to make her change her mind.

"But that's not up for you do decide. It is my life, so the decision is mine. I won't let you leave like this. Do you understand that?" he told her trying to keep his voice from wavering.

A sad smile crossed her face. Leaning up, she planted her lips against his, and he knew that it was a goodbye kiss.

Stepping back, Teagan smiled at him as she told him, "Absolutely, Falcon."

* * *

Sam stood there with a blank expression on his face as he heard the activation phrase that she had implanted into his subconscious last night. For the next few seconds, the selected memories were moved to a small space inside of his mind before being locked away so that he could not access them.

From their time together, every intimate moment was now lost to Sam. All of the passionate moments, their kisses, the touches…locked away. Every feeling that he'd had which was more than just a deep friendship was being altered. The times that they had spent together would still be there, but any romantic gesture would slightly be altered to reflect his new history.

Times down by the lake kissing were now nothing more than long talks and silent moments together.

Their time in the cabin in Norway when they were almost snowed in was now him helping her through the fear of being alone.

Every passionate night they had spent together was now him going to his own bedroom alone without even wanting a goodnight kiss.

But the most dramatic change was the time that he had spent in the Hydra base.

Now, it never happened.

Teagan was not about to leave him with the memory of that horrible time as a prisoner. So she had come up with changing that entire memory to extend the time spent at the house in South Dakota for the four of them. Sam would not remember being shot down, captured, injured, or held prisoner in that small cell. And he definitely would not remember being tortured by having been forced to listening to her many punishments. She couldn't do that to him.

Seeing Sam's eyes open, Teagan was able to see that there was now _something_ missing. The light spark that held all of his warm feelings for her. His eyes were now back to how she remembered them when they had first met, friendly. But she now knew that he no longer cared for her the way he had only moments before.

And even with having resolved days ago to go through with this plan, she could not let him entirely go. That was why she had implanted the second command phrase. The one that he only had to hear her say to bring all of the memories rushing back to him in a flood of emotional fury. That's why they had been locked away instead of erased. She may not think herself worth of him anymore, but she needed that tie to him to be there. To give her hope for a future that she didn't think would ever be possible.

"Are you sure that you don't want to come with us?" Sam's voice brought her back to the now. She had left him with a simple and agreed upon idea that Natasha had been able to fix her history with her friends and family to allow her to return to Ireland. They all believed that Hydra's information had been deleted and that they had no way to ever find her. "Haven't we had some fun? How can you give all of this up?"

Even with him only thinking of her as nothing more than a friend, he was trying to get her to stay with him. He was much too good for her.

"I think that I've had plenty of fun these past two years," she tried to make sure her smile look sincere. "Besides, I'm looking forward to a bit of quiet time at the pub with my family."

"A quiet time at the pub? Isn't that a bit of an oxymoron?" he jested with her. How she was going to miss him.

"I guess it is, but it's what I think I need right now," she told him glancing over her shoulder at where her cousin waited for her. "I better get going before someone heads out here to see what that jet is doing here."

"Alright," he told her, a sadness coming over his face. Did he remember something? "But if you ever need us, or just want to talk, you give any of us a call. Especially me since I'm the unofficial leader of this twisted group."

Teagan laughed aloud at his joke, amazed at him.

"I'm sure that Steve will be relieved to hear that," she wiped at the tear which had reached the corner of her eye. She needed to get away from him before she changed her mind.

Holding out her hand, she offered it to him. Sam seemed a bit disappointed, as if he were expecting more. But with the memories that he _could_ remember, he probably figured that anything more would not be appropriate, so he took hers and gave it a firm shake.

"I'm going to miss you, Teagan. You know that, right?"

Not able to hide it anymore, she gave a sniffle as she almost lost it right there.

"I know. I'll miss you too…more than you know."

Sam's brows seemed to furrow for a moment, as if his mind was trying to capture something. Instead of giving him time, she stepped around him and headed towards Steve and Natasha. She could see the worry on both of their faces as they stood there stoic. She had commanded them to not interfere and now it was time for them to forget also.

"Thanks for all that you did for me, and for all that you've had to put up with. Please look out for Sam for me," she told them. Not able to lose her friends too, she had also given them special recall commands for hopefully a time in the future. With a nod of her head, she acknowledged them as, "Captain America, Black Widow."

There was a few seconds of fading as both of their memories were pushed to the back of their minds and locked away, just as Sam's had been. All four of their memories would now match without conflicting if they discussed something.

Without any other words, she nodded and turned from them. Quinn was patiently standing by the stone wall that separated the yard area from the path that led to the small beach area they had landed on.

Knowing that she could not look at him again, she walked towards her cousin without another glance at Sam. Her heart was already cracked, and seeing him as she walked away would be the final blow that would make it shatter.

* * *

Sam watched as Teagan embraced her cousin with a hug. He hoped that Natasha's profile held up under any examination that Teagan would need it for. Not that he was brave enough to question Nat as to that. But he knew that the two of them would never have agreed to letting her go home if she wouldn't be safe. He could only hope that she would be.

Hearing a ringing noise from behind him, he turned to look over at where the tone was coming from inside of the Quinjet. Steve perked up as he hastily stepped inside of the jet to retrieve the flip cellphone that he had been carrying for two years. Glaring at the item, he took a deep breath before answering it.

"Hello?" there was a long pause. "Bruce? How did you get Tony's phone?"

* * *

**Wakanda – Many Hours Later  
Not long after arrival (A:IW movie)**

"I'm kind of surprised that Teagan was not with you all," Bucky said as he, Rhodey, and Sam watched the small group head inside to the laboratory to see about Vision and the Mind Stone. "But since she's not exactly a combatant, it makes since she would stay behind."

"She didn't exactly stay behind," Sam told him, making him curious. "We had just said goodbye as we took her back to Ireland right before Bruce called for help."

"Took her back home?" he asked. Knowing from Steve's many stories about the two of them and how their relationship had bloomed, he was surprised at how calm and cool Sam sounded at having her gone. "You just let her go?"

Sam turned to him, a curious look on his own face now. "Nat fixed her background, and she wanted to see her parents again. Considering how much she has worked for these past two years at trying to find some kind of normalcy, I'm shocked that you of all people wouldn't be happy for her."

Now Bucky really was confused.

"It's not that I'm not happy for her. In fact, if that was what she wanted, then I'm glad that she was able to go home. I'm just surprised that you let her go so easily."

"I've been working with her and seen such great improvements with her mental stability," Sam told him with too much calmness. "As her friend, I'll always be there if she needs me."

Bucky glanced over at Rhodey, who had been listening to them talk but seemed lost. Taking a step closer to Sam, he responded, "A friend?"

"Of course," Sam answered as if it should be obvious.

"But weren't you more than that?"

Sam looked at him hesitantly, as if he were the one who didn't understand something. But he knew without a doubt, from Steve, that the two of them were more than just friends. They had been a couple, and intimate, for months now. Why would Sam suddenly act like she was nothing more than a friend…

Then the answer came to him.

"Sam, are you telling me that you never once thought of Teagan as anything more? That you never kissed her?"

"For an old man, you have a perverted mind. Has anyone told you that?"

Sam shook his head, and began to fiddle with his arm controller for Redwing. Rhodey took that opportunity to move closer to Bucky.

"Who's Teagan?"

Bucky turned to him, not sure how much to say about her.

"She was a captive of Hydra's, then Ross'. Steve freed her from the Raft at the same time that they got the rest of the team out of there. She'd been with them ever since."

"Was she a criminal?" Rhodey asked, knowing there had to be a reason she would have been a prisoner there.

"No. But she does have a special power, and I think that she used it on him," he told Rhodey, looking over at where Sam was standing.

"What kind of powers?" he asked.

But before he could explain them to him, Sam stepped over to stand right next to him, "Guys, we have incoming."

Looking up to the sky, Bucky could see the burning glow from whatever the items were that had just entered the atmosphere and were heading right for them. He hoped that T'Challa had been right and Wakanda's defense system would hold up. Otherwise, this was going to be a very short fight.

Sam reached up and touched the comm in his ear, "Hey Cap, we have a situation here."

Bucky knew that his and Sam's conversation about Teagan would have to wait.

* * *

 **Galway, Ireland**  
**The King's Head Pub**

Sitting in the back of the pub, Teagan finished off the pint that Quinn had given her. It was strange being back here, watching everyone going through such normal lives. Mothers dragging children off to the school they didn't want to go to, men joking as they walked to work, the honking of car horns once traffic had started building up.

It almost felt like she was watching something that she had no idea how to participate in. This was a life that she had never been given the chance to have.

Her life had been filled with Hydra for far too long, then had changed once again to be filled with superheroes. How was she supposed to readjust to society when she didn't understand it?

"Here ya' go," Quinn said placing another full pint in front of her.

Since she had gotten here, he had never once left her side. To get in touch with him, she had called Liam and used the command phrase so that he recalled seeing her in Chicago at the pub with Sam. He had then given her Quinn's number so that she could get in touch with him. He had everything ready for her to stay with him by the time she had gotten here.

Last night she'd given him the full story of what she'd been through since being taken by Hydra. After that, she'd questioned a couple of guys close to him to see if they had any connection to the hated group. Finding them clean, she'd taken up his offer to watch out for her. She was still worried about heading home and what it would do to her parents and family. She might have to consider how to word some commands to calm them down in case they freaked out too much.

"Thanks," she told him sliding it closer to him.

"Ya' still want ta' wait be'fore heading home?" he asked drinking from his own pint.

"Yeah, I just need some time first."

"Well, ya're home and we'll protect ya'," he nodded his head towards where his mafia brothers were sitting at the bar. Even with the place mostly filled, there was something about the group that stood out.

"I know you will," she said as she heard the sound of numerous glasses smashing to the floor. They looked over to where the waitress had been carrying a tray to a table.

Teagan watched in horror as she realized that the woman's arm had disappeared. Moments later, the rest of her body turned to the same ash as her arm.

"What the fecking hell?" Quinn asked aloud as he stood up to stare at the spot she had been at. That was when they hear more glasses breaking.

Over the next few moments, panic erupted in the pub as part of the patrons screamed and began to blindly run away as the other part simply disintegrated into the same ash-like substance as the waitress had. From the outside, they then began to hear the sounds of numerous car crashes. There were more screams coming through the door as people ran outside trying to escape whatever was happening in the pub.

Quinn looked over at her, their eyes meeting for a moment before one of his brothers screamed. Rushing over, he was not fast enough to catch him before he fell to the ground and broke apart into ash.

It was almost an hour later when she and Quinn made it back to his flat. Walking through the streets had been like a horror movie. There were people running everywhere screaming out names trying to find loved ones. Most of the time, they never received a response. Quinn had called his mum and she had answered the phone and told him that the new on the television said that the strange event was happening everywhere, not only in Ireland.

Sitting down on the old, torn couch, Teagan dreaded what she was about to do. Reaching into the bag she had brought with her, she pulled out the disposable phone she had gotten from Natasha. There were limited numbers in it. She went to the second one down...Sam. As it continued to ring, she felt her chest start to ache. Hanging up, she then called the next number down, Steve.

Counting seconds as she waiting to see if he answered, hearing someone pickup, she held her breath.

 _"Hello?"_ Steve's voice was not as calm as it always was.

"Steve, it's Teagan. Something happened. Nobody knows what, but people...they're just gone."

 _"I know. We all know. We've been trying to see who's missing..."_ but she didn't want to hear anymore from him.

Interrupting him, "Let me talk with Sam."

There was much too long of a silence from the other end of the line.

_"I can't."_

"What do you mean you can't?"

_"He's not here."_

Teagan felt her throat tighten up as she stopped breathing. Her entire body felt weak. Her hand began to shake so much that the phone fell from it to the floor. As her ears began to hurt from the noise, that was when she realized that it was from her own scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that's it. I've taken the story to the point of the end of A:IW and the snap. I know that it's not the happy ending that you were probably hoping for, but then Sam didn't survive the movie. So what would you think Teagan might do considering her powers and what chaos the world has been thrown into? I know that I have a small inkling of an idea for a follow-up story, but I'd love to hear any thoughts you might have. They may just help me consider actually writing more with Teagan and Sam.
> 
> I have another smaller story I've been working on, but it's nowhere close to being ready to publish. If you like this story, or any of my other ones, consider following me so that you'll get a notice when I start posting again. Till we meet again!


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